Waking Nightmares: Magic Lives
by KnightMysterio
Summary: Sidestory of Waking Nightmares. At the end of Rainbow Rocks, Sunset Shimmer became an alicorn. This was the catalyst for magic in the Equestria Girls world to revive. But it has not come alone, bringing the shadowy servant of a blank-faced monstrosity...
1. Going Home

_**Waking Nightmares – Magic Lives**_

_**An Equestria Girls fanfiction**_

_**by Jonathan "KnightMysterio" Spires**_

_**Chapter 1: Going Home**_

_All characters not original copyrighted to their original owners, used for non-profit amusement reasons. All original characters copyrighted to me. Comments, compliments, and constructive criticism are appreciated and encouraged. Flames will be ignored. Events take place two years before the start of Waking Nightmares. _

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

_Canterlot High Stadium..._

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

"GOT THE MUSIC IN OUR HEARTS!

WE'RE HERE TO BLOW THIS THING APART!

AND TOGETHER

WE WILL NEVER

BE AFRAID OF THE DARK!

HERE TO SING OUR SONG OUT LOUD

GET YOU DANCING WITH THE CROWD!

AS THE MUSIC

OF OUR FRIENDSHIP

SURVIVES!

SURVIVES!

_SURVIVES!_"

Sunset Shimmer couldn't believe how good she felt right now. Magic, real, pure, Equestrian magic flowed through her body, her every atom tingling with pure, almost electric joy. She felt the bonds of trust and affection from Twilight Sparkle and the others flowing through her. For the first time since she came to this world, she felt like herself again.

And even as the magic flowed through her, she felt something else. The firm confidence from Applejack. The gentle warmth from Fluttershy. Pinkie Pie's sheer joy at seeing Sunset's REAL magic return. The willingness to trust from Rarity. Rainbow Dash's devotion to her friends. And Twilight's love and happiness at seeing Sunset's true light shine through.

Heck, she even felt Vinyl Scratch's joyous amazement at the whole ordeal, and Spike's rising sense of triumph.

She closed her eyes and let out a joyous laugh. Tears flowed from her eyes as she underwent a personal revelation. This was it. This was the truth she had so long denied. She never would have come this far on her own... without friends. The love of those who cared for her bolstered her very being. And her love for them bolstered them in return.

Friendship is magic.

She opened her eyes and looked up, seeing a massive alicorn of pure harmony magic looming above the stage. As she watched, the alicorn reared up and fired a massive beam of rainbow energy at the Dazzlings. Their ghostly Siren avatars dissolved, destroyed by the light of friendship, their gem necklaces shattering a moment later.

The Dazzlings fell to the stage as their magic faded, reverting to human form. As the aura of heavenly magic faded, Sunset and the rest of the Rainbooms slowly lowered down towards the stage, magic holding them aloft, the seven of them watching the Dazzlings carefully as they picked themselves up.

Adagio glared at the Rainbooms, and nodded to the others. They tried to sing again, the Rainbooms bracing themselves for another attack... only for the music to come out horribly off-key. Sonata was singing too high, Aria too low, and Adagio's sound was all over the place.

The crowd booed, and began throwing food at the suddenly terrified Dazzlings. The three of them fled the stage, and Sunset, with amusement, noted that Aria was screaming at Adagio the entire time. Sunset's boots set down near the crystals, the red haired girl leaning down and picking up one of the shards. She snickered, flicking one of her pony ears as she looked over the now dull, lifeless red gem shard.

"Well, that explains why they were so protective of these things," she said.

Twilight nodded, staring at Sunset. "I guess without them, they're just three ordinary young girls..." she said, almost absently.

Sunset frowned, looking at Twilight and the others, surprised to see that they were all staring at her. "What?" she said.

"Um..." Rainbow Dash said, rubbing. "What pony species were you in Equestria, Sunset?"

"Unicorn, why?" Sunset asked, frowning. Her back felt oddly itchy for some reason.

"Uh huh..." Applejack said. "And... do unicorns have wings?"

"No, of course not!" Sunset Shimmer said, feeling her wings flare. "Why..." Wait. She whirled, looking over her shoulder. Her eyes widened as she saw the wings there. She instinctively flared them in shock. "Wha... What is... I don't..."

Twilight stroked her chin thoughtfully, looking over the girls. All of them still had pony ears, she, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash still having their wings. The magic hadn't faded yet. And as she looked, Vinyl Scratch ran up to the stage, Spike in her arms.

"Damn, girls!" the young DJ said. "That was freakin' epic!"

"WOW!" Spike said, the dragon-turned-dog jumping down and laughing happily. "I've seen both versions of you girls do the Rainbow Friendship Cannon thing a lot, but I gotta say that was one of the coolest blasts EVER! It's NEVER done that alicorn avatar thing like that before!"

Rainbow Dash grinned, flaring her wings proudly. "Heh. That's cause our music made it all twenty percent cooler!"

"More like SEVENTY PERCENT!" Spike said, almost cheering.

"Please, don't encourage her," Applejack said, snickering. "Her head's big enough already."

"Indeed," Rarity teased. "If it gets any bigger, we'll never find a fashionable hat for it."

Rainbow Dash snorted. "Please. Rainbow Dash always dresses in style," she said. "You're all just jealous that I do it without even trying."

That got a laugh out of everyone, even the nervous Sunset. The only one who didn't laugh was Twilight. "...I think we need to get to Equestria. All of us," she said after a long moment.

Sunset froze. _Go back? To... to Princess Celestia... _she thought, terrified. She began shaking fearfully.

Fluttershy frowned. "But... didn't you say you already have versions of us there? Wouldn't that be confusing?"

"Yeah!" Pinkie Pie said. "And you'd be all like 'wait, which Pinkie Pie are you' and we'd get all confused and then there's the possibility that one of us might accidentally get left behind, and wouldn't be able to go back until the portal opens again..."

Fluttershy was looking more and more distressed as Pinkie Pie rambled on, gesturing wildly. Vinyl Scratch, thankfully, intervened, clamping a hand over Pinkie's mouth.

"Dig it," she said. "You're headin' over to ponyland with Twilight, here?" The others nodded, the DJ continuing. "'Kay. So that means Twilight'd be more used to callin' her friends over there by the names y'all got here. Right?"

"Yes..." Twilight said, wondering where Vinyl was going with this.

Vinyl grinned, taking her hand away from the now silent and interested Pinkie Pie's mouth. "Answer's simple. Since they'll be the natives, the visiting versions," she said, gesturing to the gathered Rainbooms, "use nicknames instead."

The others seemed to consider that. "...Occam's Razor," Rarity said. "The simplest solution is sometimes the best."

Applejack nodded. "Ah reckon that's so," she said.

Pinkie Pie giggled. "Okay! So Applejack will be AJ, Rarity will be Rares, Fluttershy will be Flutters, Rainbow Dash will be just Dashie, and I'll just use my full name. Pinkamena," she said.

"We should probably get used to calling each other by those names now," Applejack said. "It'll help us be more used to it when we do go over there."

"Okay," Twilight said, smiling. "Then let's..." She frowned. Sunset was shivering, her arms wrapped around herself. "Sunset... Sunset, what's wrong?"

Sunset shook her head, her wings instinctively wrapping around herself. "I... I can't..." she said softly, tears in her eyes. "I can't face her again... I betrayed her, I insulted her to her face..."

Twilight put a hand on her shoulder, smiling. "Sunset... She told me... all she wants is to see you again..." she said.

Tears in her eyes, Sunset stared at her. "Why?" she said softly. "I mean, I..."

Twilight grinned. "Give her a chance," she said. "Give yourself a chance, too."

"I..." Sunset said, staring into Twilight's earnest, honest face. "Ah... all right..." she said, shaking her head.

"Um..." Fluttershy, who was trying to get used to thinking of herself as Flutters temporarily. "If... May I say something? If that's okay, I mean..."

"Of course it is, Fluttersh..." Twilight giggled. "Flutters."

Flutters nodded. "Well... um... what about the Dazzlings? They're technically criminals in Equestria, aren't they? And if we're going over there anyway..."

Dashie blinked. "Yeah, that's right. We should probably find a way to get them over there, too," she said. "They'll probably want them to face justice or something like that."

"Well, maybe," Twilight said, smiling a little.

Sunset frowned. "Twilight, they did a lot of damage back in the old days before Starswirl exiled them to this world. We don't know how long they've been active over here, so we don't know how much damage they've done here as well. Forgiving me is one thing, but forgiving those three..." she said, shaking her head. "It'd be like forgiving Discord the Mad."

Twilight's ears folded back nervously. "Eheheh... Funny you should mention that..."

Sunset stared at her, her eyes widening. "...Don't tell me that Celestia actually let him OUT!" she said.

Twilight coughed. "I... I have a bit of explaining to do," she said. "In the meantime, let's look for the Dazzlings."

"I believe I can help with that," said a voice behind them. The Rainbooms turned, seeing Principal Celestia climbing up onto the stage. "The Dazzlings have a house registered in their name. I can look it up in my records and give you the address."

Twilight smiled. "Thank you, Principal Celestia," she said.

"Yeah, this'll help us a lot!" Applejack said.

"Think nothing of it," Principal Celestia said. "I haven't been of much use during the past couple magical events, and I want to be helpful. And also..." She turned to Sunset Shimmer, adding, "I have been somewhat indelicate with your feelings since the incident before this. I want to make up for any insults I've directed towards you." Principal Celestia smiled weakly, the shame at how little she'd helped Sunset over the past few months clear.

Sunset smiled gratefully. "Thank you," she said.

.\\.\\.\\.\\.\\.\\.\\.\\.\\.\\.\\.\\.\\.\\.\

_An hour later..._

_Dazzlings residence..._

.\\.\\.\\.\\.\\.\\.\\.\\.\\.\\.\\.\\.\\.\\.\

"OVER! It's all over!" Aria Blaze screamed. "All our power, all our influence, GONE! We can't even SING anymore!" The light purple-skinned girl stormed back and forth around their shared bedroom, almost literally fuming. "Damn you _damn you _DAMN YOU!"

"Will you please shut up?" Adagio Dazzle muttered, her hands over her face. "I'm trying to think of what to do next..."

"WHAT can we do next!? We've lost EVERYTHING!" Aria almost shrieked.

"We still have the money Sonata won in that contest in our first month after Starswirl's seal broke," Adagio said, glaring at Aria. "We're still getting those lifetime payments into it, so we won't ever be hurting for cash. We can..."

"What?" Aria snapped. "We can what? Our singing, our magic, our influence, it was all we had! The only thing we KNEW HOW TO DO! We don't have any skills that fit into this era! Damn Starswirl's spell sending us into stasis for so damn long when we got sent here..."

"Well, that answers a couple of my questions," said a voice. Aria and Adagio whirled, their eyes widening.

Principal Celestia, the Rainbooms (sans tails, wings, and pony ears now that the magic had finally faded) minus Vinyl Scratch (who had elected to stay behind), and a nervous-looking Sonata Dusk stood in the doorway to the bedroom.

Twilight Sparkle, the one who spoke, sighed. "Sirens. You are criminals. Come back to Equestria with us and face judgment for your crimes," she said. "By order of Princess Twilight Sparkle."

"Oh gag, another one?" Adagio said. "Luna and Celestia were annoying enough. Especially Luna. Damned fear spells..."

Aria glared at Sonata. "You let them IN!?"

Sonata smiled nervously, playing with her long ponytail. "Um... I didn't think I could stop them..." she said softly, looking down at the floor. "And I didn't see the point of trying... We can't even sing..."

"Time to go back," Sunset said softly. "Time for us all to go back..."

"Yeah, no," Adagio said, smirking. "Aria, grab Sonata and..."

"Forget it," Aria said, scowling.

Adagio flinched back, as if struck. "What?!"

Aria shook her head. "Sonata's right. There's no point anymore," she said, her voice softening. She chuckled a little, the sound somewhat sad. "Sonata right. Wow. Never thought I'd say that..."

Sonata smiled a little.

Adagio shook her head disbelievingly. "Sonata... Aria... We can still find a way out of this! We may sing off-key now, but we can still win this if we sing together!"

Aria turned away. Sonata just kept looking at the floor, fiddling with her hair. Adagio, desperate, looked back and forth between them, looking for some kind of support, any sign of their former unity. But she found nothing. They had both given up.

She whirled, turning her gaze to Twilight Sparkle. A fury, like a rising inferno, bubbled up inside her. She ground her teeth, and let out a roar of rage as she charged Twilight, her hands outstretched with intent to strangle.

Principal Celestia stopped her, stepping in front of Twilight and lifting Adagio off of the ground. Adagio, furious, clawed at the air, still trying to kill Twilight. "YOU! ALL YOUR FAULT!" she screamed. "EVERYTHING GONE! EVERYTHING _WORTH _HAVING, GONE!"

The Rainbooms stepped in front of Twilight, ready to protect her, Spike taking a position in front of them all and growling. Principal Celestia just held Adagio, keeping silent and letting her struggle and flail until her energy ran out, the former siren collapsing in Principal Celestia's arms and sobbing softly.

"Forget it..." Adagio muttered. "We'll go with you... Anything's better than having our voices broken..."

Twilight and Sunset traded worried looks. This... wasn't how they expected it to go. At all. And as they looked at the other Rainbooms, the confused and worried expressions on their face showed that they were starting to feel bad about this as well.

Principal Celestia set Adagio down, the yellow-skinned girl walking back over to the nearest bed and sitting on it, staring down at the floor.

"Twilight and I will keep them here," she said. "The rest of you, make arrangements with your families to be gone for at least a day. We don't know how long it will take to take care of things in Equestria, and with the time limit on the portal..."

"The portal can be opened at any time now," Twilight said. "You all can go home whenever you like."

Principal Celestia let out a sigh of relief. "Okay. Will everyone's parents be willing to cooperate?"

"Yep," Dashie said, nodding and grinning. "My Dad's pretty easy going, so this shouldn't take long. See you girls at the portal?"

"My folks and sisters are used to me going off on weird little journeys," Pinkamena said, giggling. "This won't be anything new to them. Plus, I have the next week off work anyway!"

"Indeed," Rares said, huffing a little. "My parents are barely there anyway, and Sweetie Belle was there for both events, so she should be easy to convince. I'm completely caught up on orders at the Boutique anyway."

AJ nodded. "Same with mah granny, brother, and little sis," she said, smiling.

"Mom and Dad will... be concerned... but I think I can convince them to let me go," Flutters said softly.

Sunset fidgeted nervously. "I... I have someone I need to talk to as well..." she said.

Spike looked up at her, confused. "Really? Who?" he asked.

"I'll explain later," she said, leaving with the others.

Twilight just frowned. "More and more questions..." she said softly.

"Don't worry!" Spike said, wagging his tail happily. "I'm sure that Princess Celestia and Princess Luna will work things out!"

"I hope so..." Twilight said.

Principal Celestia chuckled weakly. "Oh, I do to. Especially since I plan to go with you," she said.

THAT got the attention of everyone in the room.

Twilight blinked. "Um... what?" she asked.

"I'm going with you," Principal Celestia said firmly. "I've been too lax in the safety of my students. I intend to rectify that from now on. Starting with NOT letting some of them go to another world filled with potential dangers without a chaperone."

Twilight giggled nervously. _Oh dear... and here I thought this day couldn't get any weirder. _

Adagio just rubbed her temples. "Two pompous sun prnicesses. Great..."

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

_An hour later..._

_The portal to Equestria..._

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

"Are you sure about this, sister?" Vice-Principal Luna asked, staring at the glowing base of the statue. The Rainbooms stood nearby, each one save Sunset with a travel pack holding clothing items. The Dazzlings, still looking depressed and none of them resisting, stood with ropes tied around their wrists, all of them tied to a leash that Spike was holding, the dog desperately trying to ignore the irony and concentrate on the fact that he'd be a dragon again soon.

Principal Celestia shook her head. "No..." she said finally. "But it has to be done. Sunset's sudden growth of wings she apparently didn't have in her natural form, plus the fate of the Dazzlings... Luna, I can't let this go without answers anymore. I need to learn, so I can better protect our students."

Vice-Principal Luna frowned. "If you say so," she said, hugging her elder sister tightly. "Be safe..."

"I will..." Principal Celestia said, smiling warmly and returning the hug. After a long moment, she and her sister reluctantly parted, Principal Celestia turning to Twilight and nodding.

Twilight sighed. "Okay girls... and Spike..." she said. "Let's go to Equestria."

"Oh yeah," Dashie said, pumping a fist excitedly. She jumped into the portal, AJ jumping in after her. Rares smiled.

"See you on the other side, darlings," she said, leaping in gracefully. Spike practically swooned.

"So graceful..." he cooed.

"Oh please," Aria muttered, rolling her eyes. Spike growled, yanking them forward roughly, the three sirens stumbling into the portal as he jumped in before them.

Flutters stared at the portal nervously, clutching her backpack, Angel bunny peering out of it curiously. Before she could say anything, Pinkamena came up from behind her, giggling, and pushed her inside.

Twilight just shook her head, chuckling. She turned to Sunset Shimmer, who was shaking nervously and holding herself. "I can't... Twilight, she'll never forgive me... I betrayed her, I..."

Twilight hugged her, smiling. "It'll be okay..." she said.

Sunset gave her frightened look. "Are... are you sure?"

"Trust me," Twilight said.

Principal Celestia came up behind her. "Come," she said, taking Sunset's hand. "We'll go through together."

Sunset managed to smile, comforted by the two of them supporting her. With a deep breath, Sunset stepped through, Twilight and Principal Celestia stepping through the portal with her.

For the native Equestrians, the sensation of their bodies changing and shifting was a familiar one, as they took forms that they knew again. For the humans, the experience was at once both thrilling and terrifying all at once. An electric tingle filled them as the magic engulfed them, their entire bodies going numb and then reshaping, changing into something new. And then an even stronger tingle filled them, pure excitement and bliss condensed into energy, as magic filled them...

Twilight emerged from the portal alongside Sunset Shimmer and Principal Celestia. Almost immediately, Principal Celestia, now an alicorn clad in a jacket with a datebook for a Cutie Mark, stumbled and fell on her face, her wings flaring widely and knocking down both Sunset and Twilight.

Principal Celestia blinked, looking herself over. "...Of the many things I was expecting, it certainly wasn't this," she said, flicking her tail.

Twilight giggled. "I told you. Magical pony princess," she said, looking around the room. The Dazzlings, now ponies with weblike wings, stood off to one side, trying not to look at the others. Rares, AJ, Dashie, Pinkamena, and Flutters were trying to get used to their bodies, fumbling around as they tried to get used to being quadrupedal, Flutters version of Angel bunny trying to help her. And to her steadily decreasing surprise, they all had different Cutie Marks than their Equestrian counterparts. Specifically, Rares had a needle and spool of thread for her mark, AJ had one large apple as her mark, Flutters had a rabbit for her mark, Pinkamena had a three layer cake for her mark, and Dashie had a basketball and soccer ball as her mark.

"Hey, sweet, we got tattoos now," Dashie said, noticing her Cutie Mark for the first time. "Wish it was something a bit cooler than a couple of balls..."

"That makes sense..." Twilight said softly. "Their talents are all different from the versions of themselves that are here, so of course their Cutie Marks would be different."

She turned to Sunset, who was staring at her sides with an unreadable expression on her face. Twilight gasped softly, seeing that Sunset Shimmer now sported a pair of wings.

"Sunset..." Twilight said softly. "You're an alicorn. Like me..."

"I don't understand..." Sunset said softly. "This... this wasn't my destiny... my actions at the Formal proved it..."

Before anypony could say anything, Spike, a dragon again, rushed in, breathless. "Okay, good, you're here," he said upon noticing Twilight. "I sent a letter to... whoa..." He paused, noticing Sunset Shimmer's wings. "Okay, really glad I sent off that letter now."

"You contacted the Princess?" Twilight asked.

Spike nodded. "In fact, if I know her, she'll probably appear as soon as I finish this sentence," he said.

Which she did, appearing in the middle of visiting humans-turned-ponies. "Spike," Princess Celestia said. "I'm here. What is..." Her eyes went wide when she saw Sunset Shimmer.

Sunset began shaking again, grinning nervously. "H-Hi..." she said softly.

Princess Celestia said nothing, just staring at Sunset Shimmer, glancing from her newly-gained wings to her face. "You... You're here..." she said softly. "You've come back..."

Sunset gulped nervously, and stood up. "Yes... and I'm ready to..."

A happy grin appeared on Princess Celestia's face. "Oh Twilight, you've done it again," she said, laughing.

Twilight blinked, confused. "Princess?"

Princess Celestia nodded. "Yes... first you bring my sister back to me when I couldn't... and now you've brought home one whom I love as a daughter..." To everyone's surprise, especially Sunset's, Princess Celestia scooped up Sunset and hugged her tightly. "I've missed you so much!"

Twilight gasped softly, the others trading amazed grins at this. Sunset pushed herself away, frowning. "But... I betrayed you... I ran away, and I stole the Element of Magic..."

"If anyone needs to ask forgiveness, it's me," Princess Celestia said, still smiling. "I failed to teach you properly the value of friendship, and instead of helping you, I tried to stifle you. But that doesn't matter now."

Sunset shook her head. "But you said... you said being an alicorn wasn't my destiny..."

"And I've never been happier to be wrong," Princess Celestia said, hugging her once more. This time, Sunset Shimmer didn't resist, hugging Princess Celestia back and grinning.

Twilight, for her part, was still a bit confused. But Princess Celestia was smiling, a rare, REAL smile. And she was more than happy to have been part of the source of it.

Principal Celestia grinned widely at her counterpart's happiness, although she couldn't help but feel a little jealous. She had never had children of her own, save for her students.

The five humans-turned-ponies grinned widely at the sight of the happy reunion. They still weren't sure of what to make of all this, but seeing Sunset REALLY happy made up for a lot of the confusion.

The Dazzlings, who had huddled in a corner after Princess Celestia appeared, whispered amongst themselves.

"I can feel our magic steadily returning. Now that we're back home..." Adagio said softly. "Maybe we can..."

"Can what, escape?" Aria snorted. "We'd never make it out the door."

"There's something else..." Sonata said softly, a sad smile on her face.

"What now?" Adagio muttered.

"Even if we get our full powers back," she sang softly, her voice horribly off-key, "I don't think we can do much with them."

Adagio and Aria stared in horror. Their voices were broken even in this world. And a siren who couldn't sing might as well be powerless...

Spike, glancing briefly over to the Dazzlings, overheard their conversation and was satisfied for now that they'd behave. He looked over at Princess Celestia and Sunset Shimmer, smiling.

There was still a lot to do, but for now he could be satisfied with a job well done.

_**TO BE CONTINUED...**_


	2. Rainbooms About Town - Part 1

_**Waking Nightmares – Magic Lives**_

_**An Equestria Girls fanfiction**_

_**by Jonathan "KnightMysterio" Spires**_

_**Chapter 2: Rainbooms About Town – Part 1**_

_All characters not original copyrighted to their original owners, used for non-profit amusement reasons. All original characters copyrighted to me. Comments, compliments, and constructive criticism are appreciated and encouraged. Flames will be ignored. Events take place two years before the start of Waking Nightmares. _

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

_Friendship Castle..._

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Princess Celestia and Sunset Shimmer hugged tightly for several minutes. They eventually broke their hug, Princess Celestia looking around the room for the first time.

"Well well," she said. "It seems you've brought some friends along with you, my faithful students."

Sunset beamed, pleased that the princess still considered her faithful. Twilight giggled. "Well, you pretty much already know their names," she said, gesturing to the group.

Princess Celestia smiled benevolently. "Their names, yes, but not who they are," she said. "Please, introduce me."

Twilight and Sunset traded looks, and shrugged. "Okay, um..." Sunset Shimmer said, pointing at AJ. "This is Applejack. Her family runs the Sweet Apple Acres apple farm, just a few miles outside Canterlot city. Plus she makes this great fizzy apple cider that's brought in a lot of money for her family."

AJ chuckled, tipping her hat to the princess. "Your highness," she said. "Good to meet you."

Twilight smiled. "Over here we have Rarity, co-manager of Carousel Boutique and one of the finest fashion designers in Canterlot City," she said.

"Charmed," she said, bowing grandly.

Princess Celestia gave her a curious look. "Co-manager? Not owner?" she asked.

Rares grinned. "I'm working out a deal with the current owner of the store, who's planning on retiring in a couple years," she said. "Can I assume, from your question, that Carousel Boutique is owned by my counterpart in this world?"

Princess Celestia nodding, smiling. "Indeed. It should be interesting, seeing the two of you compare styles," she said.

"Well, that should be a fabulous encounter," Twilight said, mainly to herself.

Rares giggled, smiling. Spike was nearly drooling at the thought of two Raritys in the same room. He quickly wiped his mouth, and turned to Dashie, the human-turned-pegasus finally having gotten control of her wings and taken to the air. "This is Rainbow Dash!" he said. "Captain of the soccer and basketball teams at Canterlot High and one of the most awesome athletes in her world!"

Dashie actually blushed. "Heh. It's awesome 'cause it's true," she said. "It's an honor, Princess."

Twilight smiled, and then gestured to Flutters. "And this is Fluttershy, who works at the local animal shelter and plans to study veterinary medicine when she goes to college."

"I'm sure she'll be wonderful at it," Princess Celestia said, making Flutters blush brightly, grinning. The human-turned-pegasus muttered a shy greeting, hiding her face behind her mane. A rabbit peered out of her bag, looking around curiously.

Spike shook his head. "And apparently we have another Angel Bunny as well... Marvelous..." he said. "Anyway, last and most definitely not least amongst the girls, we have Pinkie Pie!"

"Hiya Miss Royal Horsie Lady!" Pinkamena said, bouncing up to Princess Celestia, stumbling because she wasn't used to walking on all fours. "This is a totally awesome place your student has! Can we get a tour? Can we can we can we?"

AJ awkwardly gripped Pinkamena's tail in her hooves, dragging her back to the others. She grinned sheepishly. "Sorry about that, yer highness," she said.

"It's quite all right," Princess Celestia said, smiling warmly. "I've had more exuberant greetings than that before."

"Yes, I can imagine..." Rares said, smirking. "Considering you have a Pinkie Pie that has access to magical prowess..."

Princess Celestia giggled, and turned to Principal Celestia, who have finally found her footing and stood up. "And shall I assume that this is my counterpart in the other world?"

Principal Celestia gulped nervously. Something about the Equestrian version of herself seemed to command respect just from her presence. "Y-Yes, your highness."

Princess Celestia giggled. "While you are here, you are a princess as well. Can't we talk to each other normally?"

Principal Celestia grimaced. "I... well, what would we call each other?" she said. "We're both the same...er... pony."

"'Celestia' would be nice," Princess Celestia said.

Principal Celestia frowned, biting her lip. "No, that will get confusing fast," she said, "especially if someone else is talking to us. The girls are going by nicknames, I will as well. For the duration of this trip, call me Tia."

"Only if you promise to call me 'Celestia' and not 'Princess' or 'your highness.'" Celestia insisted, smiling benevolently.

Tia smiled, sighing. "Of course, Celestia," she said.

Pinkamena, still excited, kept bouncing around the room. "We're using nicknames, too! Applejack is AJ, Fluttershy is Flutters, Rainbow Dash is Dashie, Rarity is Rares, and I'm going by Pinkamena!" she chirped.

Celestia nodded. "A fine, simple way of dealing with the name issue," she said, getting up and going over to the Dazzlings, who sat huddled in the corner. "As for you three..." Her expression darkened as she looked over the three former sirens.

Sonata whimpered softly, her ears back and her wings folded. Aria tried to look defiant, but she was too scared at of the princess to say anything. Adagio just sighed, shaking her head. "We'll be no trouble, Princess," she said. "Our voices are broken, our magic is gone, our true forms destroyed. We can't hurt anypony anymore."

To everypony's surprise, Celestia smiled benevolently. "If your magic is gone, my little sea ponies, then why do I still sense it within you?" she asked. "If your true forms were destroyed, then why do these bodies seem to fit you much better?"

The three former sirens traded confused looks. "What... what are you talking about?" Aria asked.

"You will see in time," Celestia said cryptically. Sunset and Twilight both eyerolled, long used to their teacher's tendency to be mysterious. Then they both noticed each other's expression and giggled. Celestia smiled. "Still, you have committed several crimes, so we must hold you in custody until your fate can be decided. Twilight?"

The smaller alicorn nodded, going over to the wall and pressing a button, a door opening nearby. Two armored Earth pony guards, both mares and both carrying glowing magical lances, stepped into the room.

"Your highness...es?" one asked.

"Please take these three to the local prison," Twilight said, gesturing to Adagio, Sonata, and Aria. "They're depowered magical criminals, and we want to keep them in one place until we can figure out what to do with them."

The two guards nodded, motioning for the Dazzlings to follow them. Reluctantly, the three followed them out of the room, having lost all will to fight. One of the guards hesitated, staring at the ponies wearing clothes and bearing the wrong Cutie Marks.

"Um..." she said.

"They aren't changelings or Mirror Pool clones," Twilight clarified, understanding her concern. "They're from an alternate reality."

The guard thought for a moment, nodded, and went on her way.

Rares quirked an eyebrow. "She took that awfully well," she said.

Twilight scoffed. "Compared to some of the stuff that happens around this town? Having alternate reality dopplegangers show up barely registers."

"Oh my..." Flutters said, looking alarmed. "It must be very exciting here!"

"Eh," Twilight said. "We have our moments."

Sunset shook her head. "Wow, you really have become desensitized to strangeness, haven't you?"

Twilight grinned. "It helps that Discord frequently hangs around town," she said. She blushed, and added, "I've... kinda developed a taste for the cotton candy rainclouds he makes that rain chocolate milk."

"That sounds like the best thing EVER!" Pinkamena shouted, giggling.

Only Tia noticed the sudden scowl of disgust Celestia got at the mention of Discord's name. The scowl was gone quickly, but it left Tia worried. "Before we take you on a tour of the town," Celestia said. "Do you have any questions?"

"Yeah," Dashie said. Rares poked her, Dashie rolling her eyes and saying, "I mean, yes, your highness." She took a breath, and asked, "What's with the butt tattoos everyone has?"

Rares facehoofed, wincing a little as her hoof struck her face harder than intended. But even as she did that, the non-Equestria natives all turned to look at their Cutie Marks.

Celestia giggled. "They're called Cutie Marks," she said. "They represent the special talent a pony has, showing one of the things that makes them unique and special."

"Oh," Dashie said, looking at the two balls that comprised her Cutie Mark. "Well, I'm best at basketball and football, so I guess that makes sense."

"I thought it was called soccer," Pinkamena said.

"Do not disrespect the Beautiful Game, pink heathen," Dashie said, smiling despite her serious tone. Pinkamena giggled.

Tia looked over the datebook on her flank. "Hm... Well, I've always been fairly good at organization..." she said softly. "But what about you and the other natives of this world? What do yours mean?"

Twilight smiled. "My talent is magic itself. I'm good with every form of magic known to Ponykind, and forms of magic known to other races as well."

Sunset fluttered her wings, still amazed that she had them. "My talent is related to solar magic. I can't raise and lower the sun like Princess Celestia can, but I can command solar energy and use it in various ways."

"Wait wait wait," Tia said. "'Raise and lower the sun?'"

Celestia nodded. "Indeed. That's my special talent. The sun that orbits this planet essentially belongs to me," she said.

The humans-turned-ponies all giggled. Celestia gave them a curious look. "Something funny?"

Tia smiled. "Celestia... That's not how things work. Suns are stars, huge masses of energy with tremendous amounts of gravity. Planets orbit around THEM."

Twilight smirked. "That IS how it works... in their universe," she said.

Celestia nodded, and turned to Spike. "Spike? Standard message for the demonstration I am about to give. All the usual sources."

"Right-o!" Spike said, going to a nearby filing cabinet and pulling out several scrolls. On them he wrote the same message. "World not ending. Discord behaving himself, has not overthrown Celestia and Luna. All other relevant apocalyptic villains still neutralized. Celestia just showing off. No danger. Do not panic. Seriously, don't panic. I mean it. Don't make me come over there," each read. Spike sent them all off in a single blast of green flame.

"...Why did you incinerate the messages?" Flutters asked, hugging her Angel Bunny.

Spike giggled. "That wasn't my burning flame. My burning flame is orange. My green flame is a magical sending flame. It mails out letters to whomever they're addressed to."

Pinkamena grinned. "Handy. Think of how easy it would be to deliver party invitations that way!"

"Oh, but think of the poor mailmen who'd lose their jobs if that became too widespread," Flutters said, looking thoughtful.

Pinkamena sighed dramatically. "Oh, let a girl dream, won't you?" she teased. Flutters smiled.

Celestia nodded, chuckling. "Very well, if you'll all come to the window with me?"

Curious, the humans-turned-ponies followed Celestia, Sunset, and Twilight to the large picture window on the side of the room they were in. Celestia put her hooves up on the windowsill, and concentrated, her horn glowing.

And then everypony in the room FELT the full measure of Celestia's power, the aura of her magic intense enough that even those who lived in a world without magic could feel it. They stared at Celestia, and then up at the sky, their jaws dropping in unison as the sun began to do loop-de-loops through the sky.

Celestia smiled, making the sun dance for only a few moments before setting it back in its proper place in the sky. She turned, smiling benevolently at the others, who were dumbstruck.

"...Incredible," Tia said after a long moment. "I could feel it... You were manipulating the sun's gravity to move it..."

"You really DO raise and lower the sun..." AJ said in awe.

Sunset, Spike, and Twilight traded amused looks. Celestia giggled. "Twilight actually managed to raise the sun once herself, you know," Spike said.

The others turned to stare at Twilight, who blushed. "Ah... well, to be fair, I was powered up by the combined magic of Celestia, Luna, Cadence, and myself. And I had a REALLY hard time getting it to stay in place.."

Sunset frowned. "Wait... why did you have their magical power?" she asked.

"We gave Twilight our power so that she could either hide it or make good use of it to stop Tirek," Celestia said. "If Tirek had stolen his power from us before Twilight had the means to stop him..."

"TIREK ESCAPED TARTARUS!?" Sunset shrieked, looking terrified, her wings flaring in flight.

Flutters eeped, she and Angel Bunny hiding behind Dashie. "Ah'm guessing that's a bad thing," AJ said.

"Imagine Satan escaping Hell, only much more evil and much more powerful" Sunset said, Twilight and Celestia giving her a curious look, not understanding the reference. The humans-turned-ponies did, however, their ears going back in fright.

"Y'all managed to defeat him though... right?" AJ said, gulping nervously.

Twilight nodded. "It nearly cost us everything, but we managed it without any fatalities," she said, smiling.

The others relaxed visibly. Sunset was still frowning, though. "And again you mentioned Discord... Is he really..."

Celestia sighed. "He is behaving himself. Being betrayed himself seems to have mellowed him out and helped him realize the true value of friendship," she said, looking away from the group.

Tia frowned, worried again.

Twilight nuzzled her mentor. "It's okay, Celestia," she said softly, Sunset feeling a pang of jealousy at how casually close they were. She quickly suppressed it, though. Twilight, not noticing Sunset's briefly pained expression, smiled at Celestia. "Discord's more than proved himself a hundred times over since then. He's even earned a throne in the palace. I trust him with my life."

Sunset shook her head. "You trust DISCORD of all people with your life... Sounds like an oxymoron, if you ask me... Or just flat out moronic..."

Twilight giggled. "Well... I won't say he can't be a pest at times. But he's earned the friendships he's gained since then."

Sunset chuckled. "In the meantime..." she said, "what about these?" She flared her wings, still unsettled by how right it felt to have them.

"Isn't it obvious?" Celestia said. "You need to have a coronation!"

Sunset squeaked, startled. Her human-turned-pony friends traded excited looks. Twilight rolled her eyes, giggling.

Celestia smiled. "I'm dead serious, Sunset. This isn't just because I'm utterly gleeful over the fact that you've not only overcome the greed and jealousy in your heart and become an alicorn, but it's so you can be protected against politicians taking advantage of you," she said.

"Considering what I remember of Canterlot before I ran off to the other world," Sunset said, frowning a little, "that makes a lot of sense..."

Celestia shook her head, sighing. "Sadly, my dear Sunset, very little has actually changed. The nobles are still the worst sort of pest, and still seek advantages over each other at the expense of others."

Twilight nodded in agreement. "Even with my coronation, I've had to deal with suitors propositioning me and trying to trick my parents into signing marriage agreements," she said.

Sunset rolled her eyes, chuckling. "Lovely..."

"This is so awesome!" Pinkamena cheered. "Coronation party!"

"W-Will there be much of a crowd?" Flutters asked softly.

"Darling," Rares said, grinning widely, "our Sunset is going to become a princess for real! The lost student of Princess Celestia, returned home fully redeemed and having achieved her destiny! OOOH! How exciting!"

"Geez, Rares," Dashie said, snickering as Rares went through a serious of dramatic poses with each statement. "Drama queen much?"

"Can you blame me?!" Rares said, giggling. "One of our best friends is going to become royalty for real! This is BETTER than any Fall Formal award!"

Sunset blushed, grinning. Despite everything, she still lacked confidence in her own ability to keep and hold friends. Rares calling her one of their 'best friends' made her feel like all her efforts to reform actually mattered.

Only AJ and Tia seemed concerned. Tia gave Sunset a pointed look, frowning. Sunset nodded. "I know, I know," she said softly. "I'm working up to it." She took a deep breath, and said, "Princess Celestia..."

"Hm?" Celestia said, smiling.

"I..." Sunset started. She bit her lip, Celestia becoming worried. After a moment, Sunset collected herself. "You remember how I came to live at the palace, right?"

Celestia nodded, sighing sadly. "Yes... the train crash. A magical accident at a laboratory in Canterlot caused a sudden avalanche in the mountains and..." the white alicorn's eyes widened quite suddenly, dismay coming to hoer face as she realized where Sunset was going with this. "...Oh," she managed after a moment.

Sunset nodded sadly. "It happened in the other world, too," she said. "I... I met them after Christmas, which is the Hearth's Warming equivalent in the other world. In this world, they died... In that world..." She took a deep breath. "In that world, I died..."

Celestia, suddenly feeling weak, sat down. Tears formed in her eyes as she forced a smile. "I'm..." She shook her head. "No, I'm... I'm truly happy that you were able to find your family, Sunset."

AJ just sighed somberly, the others watching the scene with concern.

Sunset smiled weakly. "I'm... I'm sorry, Princess. I can stay for a while, but... having them back again, even in that way, is a dream come true for me. I want... I want to stay with them..." she said.

Celestia nodded. "And so you shall, my little pony," she said softly. "I have missed you terribly, and love you dearly, but I will not deny you the chance to be with the family you lost."

Sunset smiled warmly. "Thank you..."

Celestia hugged her tightly, wrapping her wings around Sunset as well. After a long moment of this, she said, "You're still getting a coronation, though."

Sunset blinked. "Celestia..."

The princess's grin was mischievous. "I meant what I said about you earning it. I won't deny that I'm unhappy you aren't staying, but I AM happy about what you've become since we've last met. You've conquered your inner demons, made some wonderful friends, and even helped save three members of the lost sea pony tribe. When I told you it wasn't your destiny to become a princess, I was wrong. And I couldn't be more happy of that fact, my precious student. Sunset Shimmer, Princess of Redemption."

Sunset blushed, smiling happily, as the non-Equestrians cheered.

"And even if you don't stay, it's not like you can't keep in touch now," Twilight said, stepping forward. "I've managed to defy the limitations of the mirror and can get it to open anytime. We can come visit you whenever. Plus, I can enchant a pair of journals so you can write to us even in the other world!"

Sunset grinned widely. This was all going so much better than she had hoped.

Spike nodded. "Are we done with the potentially angsty stuff?" he asked, blowing sending fire on six more scrolls he had been writing during the conversation. Twilight gave Spike a curious look. He quickly whispered what he did to her, and Twilight grinned.

Sunset gave this exchange a curious look, but decided not to comment. "I... I think we are, actually!" she said, grinning. She felt good, she felt... happy. She liked this feeling and wanted more of it.

Pinkamena giggled. "Good! All this saddy sad stuff was really bringing me down! I wanna meet the other me and have a PARTY!"

Everypony in the room, subconsciously, felt a shiver of fear go down their spines at the idea of the two Pinkies meeting one another. Thankfully, they kept their thoughts to themselves.

"I suppose it should be all right," Celestia said. Rares, Dashie, Pinkamena, and AJ started to leave, but Flutters suddenly sat down, blushing brightly.

"...You okay there, sugarcube?" AJ asked.

"I... I just realized..." Flutters stammered. "None of us are wearing PANTS!"

AJ, Rares, Dashie, Pinkamena, and Tia went wide-eyed, looking back at themselves. While shirts and jackets had made the transition, their pants and undergarments hadn't. All of them saved an amused Pinkamena blushed, sitting down quickly.

"Oh!" Rares said, looking panicked. "Oh my! Oh my my my! This is quite improper."

Even Sunset was blushing a little. "Wow... Got so used to having to wear them that I barely even noticed when they weren't there anymore..." she said.

"Well... This is kinda awkward..." AJ said, giggling nervously. "Um... ah don't suppose that y'all have some spare shorts around?"

The totally naked Princess Celestia and Twilight Sparkle just shook their heads.

"Uhuh," AJ said, grimacing. "Thought as much..."

"You can't seriously expect us to go out with our maidenhoods showing, do you?!" Rares almost shrieked.

"Just keep your tails down and you should be fine," Twilight said, chuckling. "Really, almost everypony here is naked."

Dashie was blushing brightly. "That still doesn't help the fliers..." she said.

Celestia chuckled. "Unless you're actively searching for stallions to mate with, you should be all right simply going around as you are now. Barely anypony notices unless it's the heat season," she said, blushing a little.

AJ grimaced. "Please tell me that we're not anywhere near that..." she said, the farmer understanding what that meant, the others deciding they didn't want to know.

"It happens in the spring, and since we're in the middle of fall right now, you're good," Sunset said.

Pinkamena giggled. "C'mon girls! It'll be okay! I wanna go and see Twilight and Spike's hometown, and we can't do that if we're dragging our butts all over the place!"

Rares, Flutters, Dashie, AJ, and Tia all traded worried looks, and then sat up slowly. Flutters blushed brightly, looking the least comfortable, she and the others trying to arrange their tails in a manner that kept themselves covered.

Pinkamena, for her part, was having a blast. "C'mon, c'mon! Let's go!" she cheered, starting to sing. "Doin' the no pants dance, shoobie doobie doo wah! The no pants dance! No pants, no pants!" She danced around happily, waving her butt in the air.

Sunset shook her head. "Pinkie... mena, seriously," she said. "I know you're excited but if you keep waggling your rump around like that, stallions are going to get the wrong idea."

"Awww!" Pinkamena said, giggling. But she calmed down, going back over with the others. Dashie gave her an affectionate noogie.

At almost the same time, though, a pink lightning bolt came in and tackled Twilight to the floor, startling everypony there.

"Where?!" said an excited voice. "Where is she?! Where's the other me?! OOOH, I'm so excited! I never met another me that wasn't a mirror pool clone or a changeling before!"

"Pinkie Pie!" Twilight said, struggling to get out the near-stranglehold of a hug she was in. "Leggo! I can't breath!"

"Whups! Sorry!" Pinkie Pie giggled, the party pony letting Twilight go, straightening her mane and giving her a cupcake. Twilight ate the treat happily, taking its sudden out of nowhere appearance in stride.

Pinkamena gasped. "How did you do that? I can do some tricks like that, but I've never been able to get a food to come out right!" she asked.

Pinkie Pie giggled. "It's easy! All you have to do is divide the cupcake by zero and..." she started, trailing off and turning to Pinkamena, who grinned. She then looked around at all the other natives of the other world, who stared at her warily.

"Omigosh omigosh omigosh omigosh OMIGOSH!" Pinkie Pie said, grinning widely. "SOOOOO MANY NEW PONIES! I gotta plan a HUGE welcome party!"

"Ooh! Can I help? I love planning parties!" Pinkamena asked.

"SO AWESOME! You plan parties too?" Pinkie Pie asked.

"Yep! Pinkamena Diane Pie, best party planner in all of Canterlot City! That's me!" Pinkamena cheered.

"DOUBLE POWER PINKIE PARTY!" Pinkie Pie shouted happily. "C'mon, let's go! You can tell me all about your world as we bake the cakes!"

Pinkie Pie zipped away in a streak of pink, Pinkamena following her, the force of their exit creating a massive burst of wind that pulled loose papers out into the hall.

"That went... ...surprisingly well," Rares said, straightening her mane, which had gotten ruffled in the force of the two pink party ponies' exit.

"I'm oddly disturbed by the idea of two Pinkies teaming up," Sunset said. "Is that bad?"

"It's a natural defensive instinct," Twilight quipped, turning to Spike. "Good idea on sending messages to the others about their counterparts. Who was the sixth for?"

"Mayor Mare," Spike said, looking smug. "She can make an announcement to the town about our visitors so there's no 'changeling panic.'"

Twilight gave him a peck on the cheek. "Good work, Spike," she said, the dragon blushing. "Go help yourself to a handful of the sun rubies as a reward."

"Sweet!" Spike said, heading out of the room and making his way to the kitchens.

Rares quirked an eyebrow at this. "...You reward him with treasure?" she asked.

Twilight nodded. "Sun rubies are a type of gem that absorbs sunlight to add to their inherent magical charge. They're uncommon, but pretty easy to find, so I don't mind letting him have some as a snack now and then."

Tia blinked. "Wait... snack?"

"Dragons eat gems," Sunset said. "Helps replenish their magical reserves."

The non-Equestrians stared at Sunset and Twilight. "Seriously?" Fluttershy asked. "Doesn't it hurt to bite into gems?"

Celestia, Sunset, and Twilight snickered. "A fully grown dragon can bite through METAL. Gems are nothing," Twilight explained.

"Still, it has to get expensive to let Spikey-wikey eat precious stones," Rares said, frowning.

"Not really," Twilight said casually. "Gem mines are pretty commonplace. There's one just outside of town."

The non-Equestrians went slack-jawed in shock.

"Twilight," Sunset said, an amused grin on her face, "Gems are rare in the human world. They're held at high monetary value."

"Huh..." Twilight said, and shrugged. "Well. Shall we head on out? The others are probably on their way here, same as Pinkie Pie."

Dashie shook off her shock at the idea of gems being common place. "Y-yeah! Sure!" she said. "I'd love to see if your Rainbow Dash can measure up to me."

The Twilight, the two Celestias, and the Rainbooms trotted outside, finding Rarity, Fluttershy, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash just arriving.

"Well well," Rarity said, smiling grandly. "It seems the letters dear Spikey-wikey sent us were true!"

Applejack chuckled. "Ah thought ah saw two pink lightning bolts comin' from here. Finally decided to introduce us to those other usses?"

Twilight nodded, turning to her friends. "Girls, meet the hottest music group in Canterlot High School," she said, ignoring Rainbow Dash's snickering remarks about her counterpart still being in school. Twilight smiled, gesturing to each pony in turn. "Sunset Shimmer, who's co-lead singer with Rainbow Dash, who both play electric guitar. Rarity, who plays the keytaur. Fluttershy on tambourine, and Applejack, who plays the bass guitar. Pinkie Pie plays drums, but she left already, and Vinyl Scratch, who helps keep the beat and runs their electronics, decided not to cross over," she said, each human-turned-pony nodding in turn.

"Hey hey," Dashie said, smirking at her counterpart. "I'm guessing you're not still in high school?"

Rainbow Dash nodded, smirking. "Yeah, I went my own way a while ago," she said.

Dashie's smirk turned evil. "Which means you're older than me, GRANDMA."

Rainbow Dash flinched, as if struck, and laughed. "Oh, it's SO on!"

Rares shook her head. "Dear me..." she said. "They're both completely bull-headed."

AJ snickered. "'Bout what ah expected, honestly."

Applejack nodded in agreement. "Yep. She's definitely a Rainbow Dash all right," she said as the two Rainbows began butting heads, trading taunts with each other.

Rares smiled, turning to Rarity. "Well, to keep things from being confusing, all of us who have counterparts here have decided to go by nicknames. I am Rares. And I must say, darling, you certainly don't LOOK older than me," she said, smiling.

Rarity blushed. "Thank you, my dear!" she said. "I have truly been looking forward to meeting you, darling! It should be most marvelous to compare fashion styles between our two worlds!"

Rares beamed. "Oh, that sounds simply marvelous, Rarity darling!"

"It's like a mirror," Sunset Shimmer said softly, Twilight giggling.

Applejack looked AJ over. "Ah'm guessin' your nickname is AJ?" she asked.

AJ chuckled. "Kinda obvious, in retrospect," she said. "Eeyup. AJ of Sweet Apple Acres at y'service."

Applejack cheered. "HooWEE! That settles it, then! You're comin' over and we're giving you a real Apple family dinner!"

AJ blushed. "Aw, shucks. That ain't necessary. Plus we ain't technically kin."

Applejack smirked, poking her in the chest. "You're an Apple. That means you're kin. Circumstances of bein' kin don't matter, Apples are always willin' to treat their own to a good meal."

AJ grinned widely.

"Hnh. Nicknames, huh?" Rainbow Dash said.

Dashie nodded. "Yeah. Seemed simpler that way. Our Pinkie's going by her full name, Pinkamena, and I'm usin' Dashie."

Rainbow Dash nodded. "Fair enough," she said. "Ya noob."

Dashie smirked. "Old lady."

"Schoolfilly."

"Wrinkled old raisin."

"Baby."

"Prune."

"Teacher's pet."

"Girls, behave yourself or you'll get put in detention," Sunset teased, both Rainbows giggling.

Twilight was grinning widely. "This is going better than I hoped," she said, glancing over to where the Fluttershys were having a Timid Off, the two butter yellow pegasi smiling warily at each other, each one not sure how to proceed, each one too scared to make the first move. The other three pairs noticed the silence, turning towards them curiously.

This just made the two poor pegasi even more nervous.

"U-Um... hi?" Fluttershy managed in a tiny voice.

Flutters grinned nervously. "H-Hello..."

The awkward silence continued, both Rainbows fidgeting uncomfortably. Before they could say anything, though, Flutters's Angel bunny poked his head out of her backpack turned saddlebag, looking around curiously.

Fluttershy brightened immediately. "Oooh, you have a bunny!" she said cheerfully.

Flutters started to smile. "You... you like bunnies?" she said, scooping Angel into her forelegs.

"I adore bunnies! They're so cute, and cuddly, and have the softest fur! And I love mousies, and kitties, and puppies, and birdies, and big brown bears, and..." Fluttershy chirped.

Flutters grinned widely. "Me too! I love working with animals so much! I'm going to study to be a veterinarian when I get to college!"

"Oh, I never found time to study, but I do have a side business as an animal caretaker! I've got all sorts of wonderful critters at my cottage!" Fluttershy said.

"I'd love to meet them... I-I mean, if that's all right with you..." Flutters said, blushing.

_Wow, Pinkie Pie's right, _Fluttershy thought. _I really do look adorable when I get all apologetic. _Out loud, she said, "Of course it's all right! I'd love for you to meet my critters, and my own bunny!"

Flutters squeed happily, hugging her Angel bunny.

Sunset Shimmer pretend fainted, the alicorn placing a hoof on her forehead melodramatically. "Cuteness... rising to lethal levels..."

Excitedly, the two Fluttershy hugged each other, thrilled to find a fellow animal lover.

"HNNNGH!" Sunset Shimmer cried, faking a heart attack and collapsing.

Everypony cracked up laughing, save for the Fluttershy twins, who hadn't noticed the comedy act behind them. As the laughter died down, Celestia whispered into Twilight's ear. "I think you've forgotten to introduce somepony..." she said.

Twilight turned, seeing Tia standing back from the others, looking nervous. The purple alicorn face-hoofed, and said, "Wow, I'm being dumb today..." She motioned Tia forward, the suit-jacketed white alicorn smiling nervously.

Rarity, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy all gasped, starting to kneel, when Tia held up a hoof to stop them. "Please don't," she said. "I'm not a princess, I'm just a high school principal."

Sunset nuzzled her, making Tia blush. "All things considered, you've done a pretty good job. Barring... certain incidents," Sunset said, coughing nervously.

Tia blushed.

Twilight smiled. "Girls, this is Principal Celestia, who's going by Tia for this trip," she said. Tia bowed, smiling.

"It's a pleasure to meet you all," the besuited alicorn said.

"Two Princess Celestias," Rarity said, grinning. "Magnificent..."

"They do cut a striking figure, don't they?" Rares agreed, making Tia blush.

Celestia smiled as Tia blushed again. "Why don't you show your doubles around town?" she suggested. "I can do the same for Tia. And Twilight, I think there's someplace you can take Sunset that she'll enjoy greatly." She whispered it into Twilight's ear, the smaller alicorn giggling.

"Will do," Twilight said, saluting. She turned to everypony and said, "Shall we meet up at Sugarcube Corner this evening? The Pinkies will probably have their party ready by then."

"Sounds good to me!" Rainbow Dash said. "C'mon noob, let's race!" She zipped off in a colorful streak.

"Hey, no fair! I just got these wings!" Dashie said, taking off after her, nearly falling out of the sky when Rainbow Dash zipped back, frowning.

"That's true..." Rainbow Dash said softly, a thoughtful look on her face. "And it wouldn't be radical of me to beat you when you probably can't even pick things up with your hooves..."

Dashie blinked, looking at her hooves. "You can do that?" she said.

Rainbow Dash chuckled. "C'mon over t'my place," she said, flying off at a more normal speed. "I'll give you some tips on the basics. And you can tell me about your Cutie Mark talent..."

Dashie grinned, following after her counterpart. Meanwhile, Flutters and Fluttershy trotted off for Fluttershy's cottage.

"Um... This is going to sound like a weird question," Fluttershy said as they walked. "But... what do your parents do? I'm wondering if they have the same jobs as mine. My father's a doctor and my mother's a high ranking captain in the royal guard. The others haven't met her yet... Introducing her is always so awkward..."

Flutters smiled. "Oh, I can imagine..." she said. "My father is a doctor as well, but my mother isn't a guard. She's considering retiring and becoming one, though."

Fluttershy hmmed, curious. "So what does she do?" she asked.

"She's a professional wrestler," Flutters said, smiling.

Fluttershy blinked. "...A wrestler?" she asked.

Flutters nodded. "World heavyweight champion."

Fluttershy thought about it a moment and giggled. "Yes... Yes, I can see that."

Flutters giggled too. Fluttershy sighed happily, but then stopped. "Oh! I should warn you that my friend Discord may show up during our visit. He always likes surprising me... usually with a localized disruption of reality."

Flutters cringed, her ears going back. "...Sunset seemed nervous about him," she said.

"I admit that he's been naughty in the past," Fluttershy said, smiling. "And that he's made some mistakes... very bad mistakes..." Her smile briefly turned melancholy, but it brightened quickly. "But he's been a wonderful friend ever since then!"

Flutters frowned. "If you're sure..."

Fluttershy nodded, speaking with perfect confidence. "Absolutely. I would trust him with my life."

Meanwhile, the two Apple ponies were heading for Sweet Apple Acres, chatting about their trade. "So what's the acreage on your Acres?" Applejack asked.

"We're pretty big," AJ said, giving her the number.

Applejack smiled. "Heh. About the same as ours, then, just a little smaller. Well, that's all right. You got a trademark product?"

AJ smiled. "Our fizzy apple cider is our best seller, not countin' our apples, of course," she said.

"Of course," Applejack said. "Wouldn't be an Apple family apple if it wasn't the best."

"Eeyup," AJ said, chuckling.

Applejack smiled. "How about Zap Apples? Y'got any o' those?"

AJ shook her head. "Nope," she said. "Can't say as ah've ever heard of them."

Applejack paused midstep, and giggled mischievously. "Oh AJ... oh sugarcube... You are in for a treat!" she said. "We just finished sellin' season for them, and have got down to t'stock we keep for ourselves..." She giggled. "Yes, ah'd say that you're gonna have y'self a fine treat before the Double Pinkie Party t'night."

AJ smiled. "Well, with that kinda promise, y'done and got me excited!"

Applejack smiled. "Believe me, it's well worth it."

As the two farmers wandered off, Rarity guided her counterpart into the main part of town, where her shop was located. As the two chatted idly, they passed Mayor Mare addressing a gathering of ponies.

"Now, everypony will have probably noticed the second Pinkie Pie by now. I assure you, and have been assured by Princess Twilight herself," she said, holding up the letter that Spike sent out earlier, "that this is not the advent of a new problem. Nor is it another Mirror Pool incident, or a Changeling attack. The new Pinkie Pie, as well as any other doubles with different Cutie Marks you see over the next day or two, are simply counterparts from an alternate world come to have a friendly visit. You have nothing to worry about, everypony."

Immediately, the Flower Trio decided to ruin the moment. "B-But, what if they're EVIL counterparts from another world?" Rose suggested, shivering.

"Yes! Evil counterparts with evil magic!" Lily added, shaking.

"Evil counterparts with evil magic come to conquer us all in the name of the SMOOZE TURNED SENTIENT?!" Daisy added, quivering.

"OH THE HORROR!" they chorused, others in the crowd starting to look nervous as well.

During the entirety of their rant, a massive wall of pegasus stallion flew up and grabbed a cloud. He then punched the cloud, dumping a massive torrent of water on the three panic prone ponies.

As the Flower Trio sputtered, indignant, the massive pegasus calmly landed back in his original spot. Mayor Mare giggled, as did the others who had started to believe the Flower Trio earlier. "Thank you, Bulk Biceps," the Mayor said.

"YEEEAAAH!" Bulk Biceps said, nodding.

Rares giggled. "Nice to see that some things are exactly the same between worlds," she said. She was also fascinated to see Bulk Biceps manipulating the cloud physically, resolving to ask about it later, but for now she'd focus on the familiar.

Rarity smiled. "Ah. So your Flower Trio are riot starters as well?" she asked.

Rares nodded. "It was embarrassing, really... An exchange student from Zebrica, a lovely young girl with a flare for chemistry by the name of Zecora, showed up the year before. Those three idiots nearly started a lynch mob before Principal Celestia and Vice-Principal Luna calmed everyone down. They were nearly expelled for doing that, but Zecora decided not to press charges. Now Zecora's one of the most popular girls in school."

Rarity hmmed thoughtfully. "A similar incident occurred here, unfortunately. Thankfully, we all learned from our mistake, and Zecora is a dear friend now."

Rares nodded, smiling. "She's probably older than our version as well..." she said thoughtfully. She shook her head, chuckling. "Really, it amazes me that you're actually older than me. I'm not just saying this to be polite, but you look the same age as I."

Rarity tittered. "It's all due to healthy eating and proper application of makeup. I'll give you a recipe for a delightful low-fat vegetable casserole," she said. "Just don't let Sweetie Belle try to make it." She blinked, and then grimaced, realizing that she may have committed a faux pas. "Er..."

Rares smiled. "Ahah. Another similarity... both of our dear Sweetie Belles have taken lessons from a mother who has the cooking ability of a toxic waste plant."

Rarity giggled. "Well. In any case, I'll copy down the recipe for you before you leave. Now come! The time has come to talk of FASHION!"

Elsewhere, Twilight and Sunset were walking into town as well, going a different direction than the Raritys. Sunset frowned. "C'mon, Twilight!" she said. "Where are you taking me?"

Twilight Sparkle smiled. "You'll see," she said.

Sunset fumed, wondering what Celestia could have been whispering to her about. As they entered the business district, however, Sunset gasped.

"Princess Burger?!" she said, staring with unrestrained joy at the fast-food restaurant. "I haven't been here in years!"

"Princess Celestia told me that she always enjoyed taking you here when you were her student," Twilight said. "I only gained a taste for it recently (I was always more of a fan of Donut Joe's), but you always seemed to adore the place. Celestia figured that you might have a craving for a good hayburger after so long."

Golden alicorn hugged purple alicorn tightly, tears of happiness in her eyes. "You have no idea," Sunset said happily. "C'mon, let's go in!"

Sunset stepped in, ignoring the Ponyville residents gawking at the sudden entrance of an alicorn they didn't know. Twilight walked in right after, the manager smiling when he noticed her.

"Ah, Princess Twilight!" he said. "You're just in time! I was just about to open a new register for more customers, so you and your... um... fellow princess?"

Twilight chuckled as Sunset blushed. "It's a long story, Burger Flip," the purple alicorn said. "But suffice to say, Sunset's a friend. One who hasn't been here in a while, and deserves to have something good to eat. My treat."

The manager nodded, and motioned a clerk forward. "Very well," Burger Flip said, deciding to just roll with it. "Order away."

Sunset, still blushing, came up to the counter, Twilight coming behind her. Sunset looked over the menu, happy memories of eating here with Princess Celestia filling her. "Um... I'll take two Double Royal Hayburgers, with extra ketchup, an extra large order of hayfries, a... Moon Shake? What's that?"

"Something we added to the menu in honor of Princess Luna's return from exile! It's chocolate and coffee flavored ice cream with marshmallow fluff in it, with dark chocolate chips, white chocolate chips and graham cracker bits mixed in!" the clerk said, smiling.

"...That sounds absurdly delicious and I'll have an extra large," Sunset said, grinning. She then blushed even brighter, and asked, "And... um... do you still have the Little Princess meals? With the toys?"

Burger Flip chuckled. "Always have, always will. The current toys are little plush keychain versions of the six Founders of Equestria, and of course Princesses Celestia and Luna."

Sunset nodded, still blushing. "I'll have an apple nugget Little Princess meal. With a Celestia plush, if you have them this week."

"You're in luck," the clerk said as she rung up Sunset's order. "We have both Princesses this week."

"I'll throw in a Luna for free," Burger Flip said.

"That would be lovely, thank you!" Sunset said. She turned to Twilight, and added. "And... thank you, Twilight, for bringing me here. I've missed this place so much..."

Twilight beamed, smiling, as she paid for Sunset's food.

Back at the castle, Tia and Celestia were conversing.

"Forgive me if this seems... impertinent... but you seemed almost angry when Discord's name was mentioned," Tia asked.

Celestia sighed. "I don't trust him," she said. "I want to believe in him, want to believe that he's fully reformed... especially since it was my stupid idea to try and reform him... but he is Chaos Incarnate. His moods and manners shift more often than a wild zone's weather. I've seen him do too much to ever fully believe in him, especially after his recent betrayal..."

Tia frowned. "What happened?"

Celestia shivered. "A great evil named Tirek, who is either the descendant or the avatar of the Devil King Tirek (we've never been able to figure out which), escaped from Tartarus. He tricked Discord, whom I sent to stop him, into joining him. Discord realized his mistake and helped us in the end, becoming supposedly a true friend to Fluttershy and the others, but..." she shook her head. "I don't know. It's... difficult for me to be around him for any length of time. As it is for him to tolerate my presence for an extended period."

Tia shook her head, sighing. "It's... I'm sorry, I can't think of anything to say that might comfort you..." she said.

Celestia smiled weakly. "It's okay. It's an awkward situation, no matter which way you view it from," she said. She coughed, composing herself. "Well. I'm sure you must have many questions!"

Tia looked in the direction Sunset and the others had gone, biting her lip.

Celestia nuzzled her. "I assure you that your students are in good hooves," she said. "The Elements are heroes multiple times over, and will keep them safe."

Tia blushed at the nuzzle. "Is it common to express oneself so... so intimately?" she asked.

Celestia giggled. "We're a herding species that lives in a kingdom founded on the principles of friendship, harmony, love, and tolerance. Being affectionate is natural for us."

Tia smiled. "Sounds wonderful..." she said softly. She mused on the problems humans had in getting along with each other. "I have so many political questions I could ask... but..." She looked herself over. "There's one thing I want to know right off the bat... Why is my mane and tail so... floaty and floofy?"

Celestia laughed. "Floaty and floofy? That's a new one..." she said. "Well, it's all part of our magic. It happens naturally as we grow stronger. Twilight and Cadence are very powerful, but their magic hasn't evolved enough for their manes and tails to turn 'floaty and floofy.'"

Tia giggled. Celestia smiled. "I can suppress the effect," the princess said, her horn glowing briefly as her mane and tail shifted to the form of normal hairs, becoming a bright, cotton-candy pink. She twirled, smiling. "What do you think?"

Tia snrked. "Stick with the floaty and floofy look. This just makes you look like Pinkie Pie's older sister," she said.

Celestia laughed, letting her hair revert back to its magical corona form. "Come! Let me take you to my favorite restaurant in Canterlot. It'll be a more relaxed atmosphere. Plus, the donuts are fantastic!"

Tia looked thoughtful. "I really shouldn't. I'm on something of a diet..."

"Gah! Bad word, bad word!" Celestia teased. "You're an alicorn now, and that means your metabolism actually REQUIRES a lot of food to fuel it. I'd never get away with the amount of cake I eat otherwise!"

Tia giggled. Celestia nuzzled her again. "Come! Enjoy your super metabolism while you can! We have a Double Pinkie Party to attend later!" Her horn flared. "This will give me a chance to invite my Luna as well. She adores Pinkie's parties..."

The two white alicorns disappeared in a flash, reappearing inside Donut Joe's shop in Canterlot.

Tia staggered dizzily. Celestia smiled, bracing her up against her body. "Your first teleport. How do you feel?"

Tia giggled nervously. "Deliciously tingly..." she said.

Donut Joe, meanwhile, was staring at the two of them, frowning.. He levitated a chair into the air, giving Celestia a worried glance.

"Changeling?" he tried.

"Nope," Celestia said smiling.

"Evil clone?" Joe asked.

"Neither evil nor a clone," Celestia insisted, frowning a little. Tia stared at the chair, worried.

"Invader from another reality?" Joe tried.

"From another reality yes, invader no," Celestia said, getting annoyed. "For crying out loud, Joe, she's a school principal!"

A light smirk played over Joe's face. "...Considering some of the principals I've known that doesn't really help her case."

Tia rolled her eyes as her dizziness passed, both Celestia and Joe cracking up as the latter set down his chair. "Well, welcome to Donut Joe's Donut Palace," Joe said. "What can I get you?"

"My usual for both of us, Joe," Celestia said, motioning for Tia to sit down at the nearby table. "As for you, Tia, feel free to ask whatever you like. We're all friends here."

Tia grinned, sitting down with her royal counterpart. Maybe this will work out after all...

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

_Human world..._

_A home..._

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

"...Are you sure about this, ladybug?" said a pink-skinned woman with long, colorful hair.

"Cadence is right, little sister," said a white-skinned male with short blue hair. "These weird phenomenon..."

A purple-skinned young woman with her hair up in a bun stared at the notebooks and pictures. She hugged the purple and green dog in her arms, sighing. "There has to be a logical scientific explanation for them, Shining Armor," she said. She adjusted her glasses. "Canterlot High is the locus for this. Sunset Shimmer, supposedly dead, showing up again. Reports of a demon and a magical rainbow. Pictures of a girl who looks and apparently sounds exactly like me. Now reports of mind controlling singers being defeated by a giant magical winged unicorn, WITH PICTURES TO VERIFY THE TRUTH OF IT!" She shook her head.

Cadence and Shining Armor traded worried looks. "You know we're just worried about you, right Twilight?" Shining said, sighing. "You're my LSBFF. I don't want you to get hurt."

Twilight sighed, setting down her dog, who immediately went for a water bowl. "I know, I know..." she said. "But don't worry, BBBFF." She smiled confidently. "Spike and I know what we're doing. And we'll call for help if anything goes wrong. Twilight Sparkle was not raised to be a fool, y'know."

Cadence sighed, smiling weakly. "So we can't talk you out of this?" she said.

Twilight Sparkle shook her head. "Nope. I have to do this. I have to know, especially since I'm transferring there. Tomorrow, Spike and I are going over to investigate these so-called 'magical events' ourselves."

_**TO BE CONTINUED...**_


	3. Rainbooms About Town - Part 2

_**Waking Nightmares – Magic Lives**_

_**An Equestria Girls fanfiction**_

_**by Jonathan "KnightMysterio" Spires**_

_**Chapter 3: Rainbooms About Town – Part 2**_

_All characters not original copyrighted to their original owners, used for non-profit amusement reasons. All original characters copyrighted to me. Comments, compliments, and constructive criticism are appreciated and encouraged. Flames will be ignored. Events of this section of the story take place two years before the start of Waking Nightmares. _

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

_Sugarcube Corner..._

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Mr. Cake and Mrs. Cake, both clutching their infant children tightly, watched as two pink cyclones swirled about the room. A small pile of bits, payment for the ingredients used, lay near the cash register, as cakes and punch seemed to will themselves into existence in the wake of the two Pinkies' passing.

"Sugar lump?" Mr. Cake asked. "What's happening?"

"I... I don't know, muffin tin," Mrs. Cake said, shivering. "But I'm so very, very frightened..."

The two Pinkies worked on, unheeding of the fear of their parental figures. With almost comical screeching sound, the two pink cyclones stopped, revealing two party ponies, identical save for the fact that one was wearing a shirt and had a different cutie mark. The native, naked Pinkie Pie looked over the gathered items thoughtfully.

"Let's see..." she said. "We have cake, punch, streamers, homemade party favors..."

"I'm still amazed that you could do all that with hooves," Pinkamena said. "So cool!"

Pinkie Pie giggled. "It's all in the wrists," she said.

"Baloney!" Pinkamena teased. "I've tried it and my wrists are only as bendy as my other body's are!"

"No bologna here," Pinkie Pie teased right back, "We're all vegetarians! Pony stomachs can't handle that much meat."

Pinkamena giggled. "I've noticed. Poor Dashie will have a heart attack when she realizes she's going to have to go on the same diet our Flutters is on back home."

Pinkie Pie looked interested. "Oh? Your Fluttershy eats like us?"

Pinkamena chuckled. "She doesn't eat hay and grass, those are horsey foods, but she does eat just fruits and vegetables and cheese and stuff. I tried it once, but then I discovered the bacon donut. Mmmm, bacon donut," she cooed, licking her lips.

Pinkie Pie chuckled. "I always wondered about how bacon tastes. Never got the nerve to do it, though. Plus, there's laws preventing anything that can talk from being eaten, so that limits the options even further."

Pinkamena blinked. "Wait, cows and pigs and such can talk here?" she said, grinning widely.

Pinkie Pie shook her head, chuckling. "Not all of them. Some learn how. Around here, only Applejack's cows can. And really, I've only heard a couple of them actually talking," she looked thoughtful for a minute and shrugged.

Pinkamena bounced around. "Wow, that's neat. I bet Flutters will love to meet some talking animals!"

"Heheh. I can just imagine! 'Omigosh, your cows can talk? That's so wonderful!'" Pinkie Pie said.

"'Nature is so fascinating,'" both Pinkie Pie and Pinkamena said. They then stared at each other for a moment and collapsed in a fit of giggles.

"Um... Pinkie dear..." Mrs. Cake said. "Did you go to the Mirror Pool again? Princess Twilight said that you shouldn't..."

Pinkie Pie shook her head. "Nope! Pinkamena here is me from an alternate reality! She's a human that got turned into a pony on the way over here!"

"Yep yep!" Pinkamena said. "And let me just say that the twins are just as adorable here as they are in my world!"

Mrs. Cake blushed, relaxing a little, the twins gurgling happily. "T-Thank you..." she said. (Although she had no idea what a 'hyu-man' was.)

Pinkamena giggled. "We made friends with Twilight when she visited our world! We just wanted to visit for a couple days, see what her home was like!"

Pinkie Pie nodded. "But no visit is complete without a PARTY!" she cheered. "So since we're both the most awesomest pony planners in our world..."

"Well..." Pinkamena amended. "There was that one time with Cheese Sandwich..."

Pinkie Pie chuckled sardonically. "So you had to go through him upstaging you too, huh?"

Pinkamena giggled. "Yeah. But we made friends by the end of it!"

Pinkie Pie giggled as well. "Same here!" she said. "Say, I wonder if there are other alternate realities out there with other versions of us!"

Pinkamena smiled. "Oooh! Infinite Pinkies!"

"Infinite... Pinkie Pies..." Mr. Cake moaned, fainting, Pound flying out of his father's grip before he fell.

The Pinkies stared at him a long moment before Pinkamena giggled. "That's another thing my Mr. Cake has in common with yours," she said.

Despite herself, Mrs. Cake giggled, the two Pinkies going back to preparing their party. She decided to just do the safe thing and stay out of their way, Pumpkin and Pound poking their unconscious father with wooden spoons.

"Well..." Mrs. Cake said, mainly to herself as she watched the two Pinkies work. "If nothing else, the next couple of days are going to be interesting..."

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

_Carousel Boutique..._

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

"...Oh my," Rares said, grinning as she looked over the store. "This... this is simply FABULOUS!"

Rarity grinned. "I take it your Carousel Boutique looks a bit different?"

"It has a carousel motif, darling, but to actually make it look like a carousel?" Rares said, tittering merrily. "I adore it! I've been suggesting a redesign ever since I started working there."

Rarity smiled. "It certainly stands out, doesn't it?" she said, looking it over proudly. "I wasn't the original designer, but I have done a lot of refurbishing to make it the palace of utter fabulosity it is today."

"It's fantastic, darling!" Rares said, smiling. "I can't wait to see your designs!"

Rarity giggled. "Then let's step inside, darling," she said, opening the door, pausing briefly. "...How many times have we called each other darling in the past few minutes?" she asked, looking sheepish.

"Oh thank God," Rares said, laughing. "I thought I was the only one who noticed it."

Rarity tittered. "We do seem to be fond of that word," she said.

"Well, we can't help it if we find everything..." Rares started.

"...'just darling,'" Rarity and Rares said together, giggling.

"Oh dear, that was awful," Rarity said, smiling warmly.

Rares giggled. "Well, the Rainbow Dashes don't hold a monopoly on bad jokes. We have to get it in sometimes ourselves."

"Indeed," Rarity said as she went inside. "Remember to wipe your hooves off on the mat before entering, and welcome to my Carousel Boutique, where everything is 'chiq, unique, and magnifique."

Rares giggled. She used that phrase a lot herself. She sauntered inside, smiling at the sight of the store interior that was just as elegant as the exterior. Elegant dresses and even a few suits mounted on ponyquins, all displayed magnificently and in eye-catching fashion.

"Absolutely exquisite, darling!" Rares said, admiring the elegantly flowing dresses, several mounted with gemstones in eye-catching places. "And these gems... why, getting these must have set you back a fortune!"

"Hmmm, not really," Rarity said. "I have a good deal going with the local Diamond Dogs. They resent me for it, of course, the greedy brutes, but they know better than to turn down a guaranteed profit. Especially since not only is my voice apparently unbearable for them, but I can also whup all their furry posteriers as well." She chuckled.

Rares blinked. "I don't understand," she said.

"Gems like these are fairly commonplace. Rubies, emeralds, sapphires... Elegant yes, but there's a mine just outside of town that has them in such abundance, I can simply scoop them out of the ground. Rare gems, like sun rubies, or sky crystals... those I wouldn't waste on decorating such finery," Rarity said, almost casually opening a nearby chest and revealing a huge pile of gems.

If Rares jaw could have dropped any further, it would have been on the floor. Rarity giggled, and gently closed her mouth. "Standing there with your jaw gaping like that is unladylike, darling."

"Gems... so many... Bwuhh..." Rares stammered. She had heard it earlier from Twilight, yes, but it hadn't really registered in her mind that gems, beautiful, wonderful gems, could be so easily found.

"I'm guessing they're not as commonplace on your world?" Rarity asked politely.

"Rarity, darling, there are DIAMONDS on this dress!" Rares almost shrieked. "And... is that silk?! In our world this dress would cost millions of dollars!"

Rarity looked thoughtful. "Well... I'm not sure what the bit/dollar exchange rate would be, but here, I can get a solid five hundred bits for this dress. And this is one of my more understated pieces."

"Understated," Rares said, incredulous.

Rarity nodded. "Come! I shall show you what I've been working on for Sapphire Shores," she said. She then paused, and added, "Ah... Sapphire Shores is a famous pop star in our world."

Rares chuckled. "That I can believe. In our world she's the choir director at the local college and is a complete and utter ham. Her being a pop star? Not that much of a stretch. We'll probably all be attending the college she works at soon enough, once we graduate." She paused. "Goodness, that's almost here... Time flies..."

"Indeed it does," Rarity said softly as she opened a curtain into a hidden area. It was messier here, threads, needles, and swatches of fabric strewn around haphazardly. Rares just smiled, as her own 'work area' was in a similar state. In there was an elegantly feathered gown and cloak, a dolphin-shaped crest on the neck piece. The headdress was designed to accentuate the features of the mare wearing it. Rares could easily imagine how elegant the wearer would look. The gems mounted in the dress were designed to perfectly catch the light, so that every movement would be showy and flashy.

"Incredible!" Rares said, grinning. "Absolutely fabulous!"

Rarity beamed. "I'm glad you approve, darling," she said.

Rares gave Rarity an excited look. "Now what about your casual line?" she said. "I'd love to see that."

Rarity blinked, taken aback. "Casual line?" she asked.

Rares nodded. "You know, the clothes you make for ponies around town," she said, tugging on her purple vest and light blue shirt. "Like what I'm wearing. Designed everything myself."

Rarity fidgeted nervously. "Err..." she said. "Technically... you've already seen my casual line." She gestured absently to the diamond-studded dress in the display hall.

Rares blinked. "What, that!?" she said. "Dear me, Rarity. Forgive my blunt honesty, darling, but that's something for rich showy people... err... ponies... gah, you know what I mean! That sort of thing is for rich, well-to-do ponies with money to burn. What about the locals? What do you make for them?"

Rarity looked sheepish. Rares sighed, suddenly understanding. "Social climber? Wanting the big city life?" she asked. Rarity nodded. Rares shook her head, chuckling. "Rarity, darling, you have to play to your customer base. You make your home and business here, so you have to consider your clientele."

As she spoke, the bell to the front door rang. The two unicorns traded mischievous looks, and went to the door, where Blossomforth was waiting. Rarity opened the door telekinetically, letting her in.

"Welcome to" Rarity started.

"Carousel Boutique!" Rares finished.

"Where everything is" Rarity started.

"Chiq," Rares added.

"Unique," Rarity added.

"And mangifique!" they finished in unison.

Blossomforth stared at them, disturbed. "...Don't do that again," she said.

The two unicorns giggled. "My apologies, darling," Rarity said. "We couldn't resist. Now. How can we help you become fabulous today?"

Blossomforth was still a little unnerved by the sight of two Raritys with two different cutie marks, but she managed to hide it well. "I was just thinking about getting something nice for myself. Y'know, something... uh... hmmm." She stared at Rares, looking over her vest and shirt.

Rares frowned. "Something wrong?"

"That..." Blossomforth said, "...is a VERY nice vest."

Rares grinned, Rarity going wide-eyed. "Really? You think so?" Rares asked.

Blossomforth nodded, smiling. "I've actually been wanting something like that for a while," she said. "Something casual that will look good on me, something I could wear to work. You got that in my mane colors?"

Rarity stepped in, sensing a sale. "Not on hoof, but I can have it ready by this evening," she said. "Fifty bits all right?"

Blossomforth beamed. "That's perfect! And it'll leave me more than enough to take Thunderlane out to dinner tomorrow!" she said, turning to leave. "This is awesome. Lemme go get the payment now. I'm gonna show it off to everyone and tell them I got it from your shop."

The bell jingled as Blossomforth left to retrieve payment, leaving Rarity rather stunned. Rares giggled, nudging her. "Told you. Sometimes casual works. Sometimes you don't HAVE to go fancy to make the sale..."

"Ponies around town do tend to favor my simpler pieces..." Rarity said, mainly to herself. "Perhaps there is an art in simplicity I have been neglecting..."

Rares grinned, idly straightening her vest with one hoof. It was then that Rarity noticed the golden band around one hoof. "What is that?" she asked, smiling. She had an idea, but she needed to hear it...

Rares looked at her hoof, and grinned. "Oh good, it carried over to this form..." she said. "It's... well, it's a wedding band."

Rarity let out a cheer. "Wahaha!" she crowed. "Oh darling, how wonderful for you! Who's the lucky stallion?"

Rares blushed. "Mare, actually... Applejack, my Applejack, and I have agreed to get married once we graduate from high school. We have both our family's approval and..." she smiled wistfully. "After Sunset Shimmer was stopped, we decided that we want to spend the rest of our lives together..."

Rarity blinked. "Applejack? Really?"

Rares nodded. "Why do you ask?"

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

_Sweet Apple Acres..._

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

"Well..." Applejack said, blushing a little as she and AJ stopped to rest underneath a tree. "Rarity and ah used to date. Didn't work out, though. Personality clash. We did have some good times though, and..." She blushed, and added. "Can't really complain about the sex, either. She's... surprisingly athletic..."

AJ paused for a moment and shook her head. "Sorry. Was tryin' to imagine lesbian pony sex there for a minute," she said, both she and Applejack chuckling. "Well, shoot," AJ said, chortling. "Why not give it another go? Rares and ah are happy as pigs in a waller!" She blushed. "Heh. Well, maybe not a waller. Mah diamond ain't th'type to go rollin' around in mud. Dang if she don't look good in overalls and a straw hat, though..."

"That ah'll agree with," Applejack said with a blush, thinking of the Trenderhoof fiasco.

"Heh. Well, it ain't nothin,' really," AJ said. "What works fer us may not work fer you and yer Rarity. No worries there."

Applejack smiled. "That's somethin' to think about at any rate. Now let's go! I wanna show you around the homestead."

AJ nodded, looking forward to seeing it. She had already sampled the apples from the orchard while coming up to the farmhouse, and they were actually BETTER than the ones she had at home! She was more than looking forward to meeting the pony versions of her family.

After a few minutes more of walking, they came up to the farmhouse. AJ grinned, and laughed. "Shucks! It looks almost exactly like mah house! Y'even got that same patch on the roof!"

Applejack chuckled. "Yeah, Apple Bloom's a real genius when it comes to repairs and construction and such," she said. "Wish she'd realize it so she'd get her Cutie Mark and stop nearly destroying the town every other week..."

AJ chuckled. "So these Cutie Marks... they just appear on y'sides when y'learn your special talent?"

Applejack nodded. "Eeyup. But they don't have to define ya. Me, I'm Apple to the core. Same as you. It's why we both got apples on our butts," she said, AJ giggling. Applejack continued, saying, "But Rarity? Technically, her talent's finding and using gems. She'd be a great miner or jeweler, but she makes some of the finest and fanciest dresses ah've ever seen."

"Huh," AJ said, looking at the single large apple on her flank. "That's kinda neat."

They walked up to the house, where a skinny, rickety-looking old mare was sitting on rocking chair and idly strumming a banjo.

AJ shook her head. "Y'all really need to teach me how to hold things with hooves," she said. "Ah'm fumblin' all over the place, here..."

Applejack smiled. "We'll get t'that," she said, turning to the old mare. "GRANNY!" she called out.

The old mare nearly dropped her banjo, startled. She looked out at the two Applejacks, one wearing a shirt and vest, the other just wearing her hat. "...Applejack, honey," she said, "ah was fine with you datin' Rarity. It's like ah told Big Mac when those rumors about him were goin' round, ain't nothin' wrong with datin' another of the same gender so long it makes you happy and ah still get great-grandchildren. But ah gotta draw the line at a Changeling..."

Applejack rolled her eyes. "Granny Smith, ah told you earlier that this is me from another world. Remember that letter from Spike ah got ah few minutes ago?"

Granny Smith blinked, and then she nodded. "Oh! Right, right, I remember," she said, looking the newcomer over. "Hm. Well, y'all are sort of kin, so ah guess we need t'treat you to a fine meal 'afore that Pinkie Pie critter spoils you with her cakes and such," she said, standing up. "She's too dang skinny, anyway. Ah reckon a few dozen apple fritters'll put some meat on her bones."

AJ chuckled. "Mah version o' Granny would say the same thing," she whispered to Applejack, who laughed.

"Granny, ah promised her some Zap Apple treats. Mind if we use some of our leftover stock for her?" Applejack asked.

"Well sure," Granny Smith said. "She's kin, and that stuff we save back is meant for kin. C'mon in, other Applejack."

"Just AJ will do, ma'am," AJ said, smiling.

"Lay offa that there 'ma'am' nonsense,'" Granny Smith scoffed. "You can call me Granny, same as anypony else."

"Thank you kindly, Granny," AJ said, grinning.

Apple Bloom trotted out of the house just then, followed soon after by Big Macintosh. Surprisingly, Big Macintosh took the initiative, walking directly up to AJ and staring at her for a long moment. After a while, he simply said, "Eeyup," and trotted out into the field.

AJ snickered. "Nice to know some things stay the same from world to world," she said.

Applejack and Apple Bloom both laughed at that. "Gee, are you that other Applejack that ah read about in the letter mah Applejack got?"

_Well danged if this Apple Bloom ain't the most adorable thing, _AJ thought. "Eeyup! Although ah'm goin' by AJ while ah'm here," she said.

"This is so neat!" the filly cheered. "Hey, can ah get yer opinion on something?" She ran inside and came back out with a rather... 'badly drawn' poster, to put it in the politest possible terms.

Applejack just stared in aghast horror, while AJ kept her face neutral.

"Whatcha think?" Apple Bloom asked. "Ah've been tryin' for a portrait painter cutie mark! It's a picture of the whole family! Here's me, Applejack, Big Macintosh, Mama and Daddy up in the Summerlands..."

"It looks mighty fine," AJ said, the lie slipping off her tongue easily. Applejack stared at her. AJ ignored her, and continued. "But why don't y'ask someone you KNOW can paint t'give you a few pointers?"

Apple Bloom blinked. "Y'sure? If it's mah special talent..." she said, trailing off.

AJ just smiled. "Now, even the best need tips from the old pros sometimes. You know anyone in town that can paint?"

"Well..." Apple Bloom said, looking thoughtful. "Ah think so..." She looked at her picture, frowning. "Ah guess ah can go talk to him later..." She rolled up her ugly picture, and went back inside, muttering to herself.

"Egads, she's actually thinking..." Applejack said when the filly was out of earshot. She gave AJ a concerned look. "...You lied to her face."

AJ shrugged. "Truth-tellin' on everything just gets you in trouble. You want honesty? Talk t'mah Rarity," she said. "Nearly cost her a client a couple times, 'cause she's always insisted on tellin' people the God's honest truth, but dang if that girl ain't good at spin doctorin.'" She chuckled. "Me, ah'm more of the 'always there for you no matter what' type."

_...Could the Elements our counterparts represent be different?_ Applejack thought. _Sunset's obviously Magic, and if Pinkamena's not Laughter for that world ah'll eat mah hat. Rares as Honesty, AJ as Loyalty..._

Her thought processes were interrupted when Granny Smith came out with some toast spread with a rainbow-colored jam. AJ stared at it warily. Applejack grinned, and held up the toast to her mouth.

"Try it!" the farm pony said, grinning. "It's Zap Apple Jam! Best in any universe."

AJ frowned, staring at it warily, and then cautiously took a small bite.

Imagine the concept of the word delicious, and give it the intensity of pure sunlight focused into a laser. Imagine the very concept of sweetness and tartness magnified until they have the strength of titanium. Imagine the best sex of your life, the greatest orgasm you've ever had, magnified by a hundred. Imagine what it's like to be the DC Comics character Superman after he's been bathing in his power source, the sun itself, for over a year. Imagine feeling all of these things at once, times a billion. Do so, and you'll be experiencing one fiftieth of the sheer pleasure AJ is experiencing in her first bite of Zap Apple Jam.

Applejack and Granny stared at AJ as she stood there, eyes open and sparkling, not swallowing the bite in her mouth. Granny reached forward and poked AJ in the chest.

"Ah can see stars..." AJ groaned in sheer bliss.

Applejack and Granny chuckled. "Forgot that always happened to first timers," Granny said.

Applejack snickered. "Well. Ah wonder how the others are doin'?" she said. "Bet the other Fluttershy's havin' a blast."

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

_Fluttershy's cottage..._

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

"I love it here and I never want to leave," Flutters said, giggling excitedly as she cuddled up against a sleeping big brown bear while hugging a pair of bunnies, a weasel, and a squirrel, a pair of robins resting in her mane. "I mean, I know I have to go back, my home and family are there, but still, this place is absolutely WONDERFUL!"

Fluttershy was beaming. "Oh, I'm so glad you're enjoying yourself!" she said. "I was so worried! I rarely have guests over besides the girls or Discord."

"You needn't have worried!" Flutters said, smiling widely. "Your cottage is so wonderful! You get to live with nature, and help care for all these wonderful critters... I never get a chance to work with bears or weasels or snakies at the animal shelter!"

"Ooh, an animal shelter?" Fluttershy asked, smiling. "A place to keep cute little animals until they find a home?"

Flutters nodded. "Mainly just kitties and puppies, though. And sometimes we have to... um..." she trailed off, fidgeting.

"The last kindness," Fluttershy said softly, understanding.

Flutters shook her head, tearing up. "I hate it. I hate it that sometimes that's the only way to help some poor little critter..." she said softly.

"I do too..." Fluttershy said. "But that's just the way nature is sometimes. After they've been to the vet for... that... they sometimes come to me to talk. I've had to talk some of them out of getting a pet right away again, so they've had time to mourn."

"Same," Flutters said. She took a deep breath, and said, "But let's not talk about such dark things. We're here to have fun!"

Fluttershy grinned. "Yeah, you're right!" she said. A thought occurred to her, and she said, hesitantly, "Um... maybe I could teach you how to fly? I mean, you are a pegasus... I could show you some..." She gulped nervously, and continued, "'tricks...'"

Flutters squeaked nervously. "U-Um... If it's okay, I'm fine with not learning anything fancy about flying... This is kind of embarrassing to admit, but... I... um... have a fear of heights..."

Fluttershy blinked. "I'm sorry, what? You sort of trailed off at the end..."

Flutters blushed brightly. "I'm scared of heights..."

Fluttershy bit her lip, frowning. "Please, speak up..." she said softly.

"Eep!" Fluttershy squeaked.

Fluttershy covered her mouth with her hooves. _Must not laugh. You've done the same thing. Must not laugh at the irony of having it happen to you. _"Okay, um..." She heard the distinct sound of fingers snapping, as well as a magical tinkling sound. She shook her head, and said, "I know you're scared. But it's nothing to be ashamed of. If you said what I think you said, I know where you're coming from and understand perfectly. I don't like heights either, and am SO very glad you're not interested in stunts. Rainbow Dash's tricks terrify me. Now please, speak up."

Flutters nodded, and took a deep breath. She opened her mouth to speak, but instead of her normal voice, what came out was the booming 'Flutterguy' voice Fluttershy had whenever she was affected by Poison Joak. "_**I HAVE A TERRIBLE FEAR OF HEIGHTS!**_" Flutters rumbled, covering her mouth in shock.

Fluttershy rolled his eyes as Discord literally fell out of nowhere, the draconequus laughing wildly. "Oh, you should have seen your face!" he crowed.

"Yes yes," Fluttershy said. "Very amusing. Now change her voice back to normal and apologize."

Discord nodded, still giggling. He snapped his fingers again, creating a brief flash of magic, and sighed. "Ah, so much fun. At any rate, I do apologize for the rather awkward way of introducing myself. Your voice should be normal again. I find a friendly prank is an excellent way to break the ice."

Flutters hesitated a long moment, singing a few notes softly to test to see if she was back to normal. Once she was satisfied that she was, she looked at Discord apprehensively. "Y-You're..."

"Discord," the draconequus said, bowing. "Bastion of Chaos and Change, Ruler of All Things Insane and Inane, and Mayor of a small town on the coast. It's really quite lovely. You should visit sometime."

Fluttershy blinked. "You're a mayor?"

Discord laughed. "Nah. Stole that last one from a webcomic," he said. "I'd never have the patience to be a politician." He looked thoughtful for a moment. "Maybe. Never actually tried it."

Flutters just stared at him, awestruck.

Discord sighed, and gently stroked her chin. "Fear not. I would rather die and spend the rest of eternity in Tartarus than let Fluttershy or any alternate version of her come to harm."

"I'm not scared, it's just..." Flutters said softly, smiling. "I've never seen anything like you."

"I pride myself on being one of a kind," Discord said, posing proudly. "Granted, it's also because more than one of my kind in a 'mundane' dimension tends to cause rips and distortions in reality that require obnoxious harmony rainbows to fix," he added casually. "Still, it was nice seeing mother and father again. I really should thank the Crusaders for that little incident last month."

Flutters blinked. "Do I want to know?"

"Probably not," Discord and Fluttershy said in unison, the two looking at each other and laughing.

Flutters smiled. "You're really amazing," she said. "Both of you. I envy you."

Fluttershy blushed. "M-Me?" she said.

Flutters nodded. "You live in such an exciting, magical place, you get to meet people as amazing as Discord..."

Discord chuckled, faking sheepishness and speaking in a silly voice. "Aw gawrsh, you keep sayin' nice things like that and I'mma gonna get a swelled head," he said, his head inflating like a balloon and popping, raining down confetti which turned into biscotti cookies on tea plates when they hit the ground. Discord regrew his head in an instant and helped himself to the cookies.

Flutters giggled. "And you get to go on such amazing adventures with the girls!" she said. "I could never do something as brave and impressive as that..."

"Brave? Me?" Fluttershy giggled. "Flutters, every time we go out on some insane adventure, it's a wonder I'm able to maintain anything resembling bladder control. Nightmare Moon, Discord before he became nice, Queen Chrysalis, King Sombra, Starlight Glimmer, eldritch abominations, FULL GROWN DRAGONS..." she shivered. "I hate being an adventurer. Large things that aren't my mother, Bulk Biceps, or Discord scare me, and I loathe excitement of any kind. Oh, I'll go out and help. I can't let the girls go it alone, can I? But all things considered, I'd rather stay home and take care of my animals."

Flutters grinned and nodded, understanding completely.

Discord looked thoughtful for a moment. "In a way, Fluttershies... You two are the bravest and the strongest of all of Elements," he said.

Fluttershy and Flutters stared at Discord in confusion. He smirked. "Hear me out: if you have no fear, then how hard would it be to face something that's big and scary?" He snapped his fingers, creating images of Applejack and Rainbow Dash dressed up as barbarian warriors, wielding massive weapons and facing down a hydra.

Fluttershy shrugged. "It would be easy, I guess," she said, Flutters nodding in agreement.

Discord snapped his fingers again, creating an image of Fluttershy, cowering in heavy armor with a thick shield and lance, facing down the same hydra. "Now," he said, "how much strength, how much courage would it take to face something that scared you, that terrified you to the core, and not run away from it?"

He gestured, and the image of Fluttershy ran forward, letting out a silent (but adorable-looking) battle cry while sobbing in terror, flailing her lance around wildly. The hydra image, taken aback, ran away from the Fluttershy image, disappearing into the ether. The Fluttershy image looked around once she noticed the hydra image was gone, and raised her lance triumphantly.

Flutters stared, awestruck, as if she hadn't considered that before. Fluttershy chuckled. "I remember getting that lesson before. But I guess I need reminding from time to time..." She smiled at the draconequus. "Thank you, Discord."

Discord grinned, relaxing in an invisible hammock in midair. "For you? Anytime."

Fluttershy looked over at her Angel bunny, who seemed to be in an intense argument with Flutters' Angel bunny. With her intuitive knowledge of animals, she could understand what they were saying.

((Author's Note: All lines spoken by the Angel bunnies are translated from rabbit speak. The Fluttershies and Discord can understand them, but nopony else in-universe can.))

"How... how can you be such a WIMP!? I can tell you're me, we have the same scent, but you're such a limp noodle!" said Fluttershy's Angel bunny.

"How can you be so MEAN to your Fluttershy!?" said Flutters's Angel bunny. "She feeds you, takes care of you..."

"She's also a wimp! She needs a swift kick in the cutie mark now and then just to keep her motivated!" protested Fluttershy's Angel bunny.

"Don't you love her?!" yelled Flutters' Angel bunny.

"Don't you dare accuse me of not loving her! I love her more than the other pets love their owners! But damn it, if she won't develop nerve on her own from time to time, then someone has to FORCE her to!"

Discord and the two Fluttershies stared at the two bunnies as they argued, oblivious to their surroundings. Discreetly, Fluttershy leaned in to her counterpart and asked in a quiet voice, "...Wanna trade Angels?"

Flutters snickered. "No offense but... I think I like mine better."

Fluttershy smiled. "Oh well. I'll guess I'll just have to do better in getting mine to be nicer."

"Good luck," Discord muttered, causing the two yellow pegasi to giggle.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

_Rainbow Dash's cloud house..._

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

"SOOOOO JEALOUS!" Dashie laughed, flying around the elegantly structured cloud house.

Rainbow Dash smirked. "Ponies never believe me when I say I designed it myself. Took me weeks to gather the clouds and get them at just the right consistency to be used as building material," she said. "Just because I don't like nerdy stuff doesn't mean I don't know what I'm doing when it comes to cloud construction!"

"I know, right?" Dashie said, swooping up beside her. "My Dad's in construction, and I've picked up a lot from him. I don't do well on some of my history reports, and the advanced math, but I'm no dummy."

The two hot-headed pegasi traded high-hooves. "C'mon in," Rainbow Dash said. "Lemme show you around." She landed on the gate of the cloud-house with a puff, Dashie hesitating before folloing suit.

"It feels solid," Dashie said, marveling.

"Yeah, pegasi got a natural magical aura around us that lets us manipulate or stand on clouds and such," Rainbow Dash said. "At least I think that's how Twilight explained it. I don't get the mechanics of it, I just know it works."

Dashie chuckled, following her in. They went inside, Dashie looking in curiously... and laughing. For all the grandeur of the outside, the inside was almost exactly like her house. Dishes that needed cleaning, an absurd amount of memorabilia of Rainbow Dash's favorite sports team, random books piled about, excessive amounts of socks in random locations.

"Wait, socks?" Dashie asked.

A terrified squeak and a rainbow-colored blur later, there were no signs of socks left anywhere in the house. "Eheheheh..." Rainbow Dash said, laughing nervously. "I... may have had a passing interest in a certain artifact of intimate apparel a year or two ago..."

"Socks." Dashie deadpanned, quirking an eyebrow in amusement. "Really."

"Not all of us wear clothes all the time, noob," Rainbow Dash said, gesturing at Dashie's vest. "Certain articles take on different meaning for us."

Dashie chuckled. "Still, this is all really incredible. Can you really create a sonic boom, like you said?"

Rainbow Dash grinned. "Sonic RAINboom, thank you very much," she said. "And just watch." Rainbow Dash zipped outside and started going higher, wanting the shockwave to cause as little damage as possible. Dashie watched as her counterpart went higher and higher, almost exiting the atomsphere... and dove straight DOWN, picking up speed at an incredible rate. Down, straight for the house.

"OmigoshomigoshOMIGOSH!" Dashie said, flying away from the house to avoid what was, to her eyes, an inevitable crash. But before that could happen, however...

_BOOM_

The sound barrier broke, a shockwave of pure color spreading out over the skies above Rainbow Dash's house, sloshing around her various rainbow fountains. Rainbow Dash herself spiraled around the house, surrounding it in a cage of rainbow energy before zooming off and using her rainbow contrail to write the words 'Aw Yeah' in midair before skidding to a perfect stop in front Dashie, who's jaw had dropped in shock.

Rainbow Dash, forelegs folded, just dusted herself off casually. "Well?" she said.

"...Teach me, sensei!" Dashie almost shrieked, giggling like a schoolfilly.

"Heh," Rainbow Dash said. "Sorry, but the only way I could manage that is if I had a few years and you had a talent for speed, like me."

"Awww!" Dashie complained, still smiling. "But that was so AWESOME!"

"I know, I know," Rainbow Dash said, chuckling. She glanced briefly at the rainbow trail she left, which was already fading. "Y'know, for someone who's not been a pegasus before, you're pretty good at flying."

Dashie grinned. "Haven't been a pegasus before, have had wings before," she said. "We did a sort of half-transformation when we fought Sunset and then the Dazzlings." She flicked her ears, giggling at the sensation. "Yeah, we all grew pony ears, our hair grew out into long tails, and me, Twilight, and Flutters grew wings."

"And naturally, being me, you took off immediately," Rainbow Dash said.

"Well, of course," Dashie said, smirking. "I mean heck, every human dreams of flying. Except maybe Flutters."

"Wouldn't surprise me, as difficult as it is to get Fluttershy off the ground," Rainbow Dash muttered affectionately.

The two Rainbows giggled. Dashie stared at Rainbow Dash's mane for a moment, and said, "Listen... I don't mean to be rude or anything like that, but..."

"Yes, it's all natural color," Rainbow Dash said.

Dashie laughed. "Mine too, but that's not what I meant."

Rainbow Dash's smirk became slightly melancholy. "Have people mistook me for gay?" she said. "Oh yeah. I've been called all the names. Had mares flirt with me to, even though I didn't have any physical interest in them."

Dashie nodded. "Same here, which is annoying. I mean, just because I'm kinda butch, and I like sports, roughhousing, and being crude like the guys doesn't mean I don't want them between my legs."

Rainbow Dash chuckled. "Lemme guess – only completely straight one in the group?"

"Rares, Sunset, and Flutters are bi, AJ's gay, and Pinkamena I'm pretty sure would have a go with anything that said yes that wasn't a corpse or kid," Dashie said, sighing.

Rainbow Dash shook her head, laughing. "Yeah, same on this world with Twilight and the girls," she said.

"It's all good, though," Dashie said with a grin. "Just means I'm so rad that everyone wants me. I'm too awesome for them anyway."

"Amen, sister!" Rainbow Dash said, the two of them high-hoofing. "So what about you? What's your talent?" she asked, gesturing to Dashie's Cutie Mark.

Dashie looked at her flank. "Well... I guess you could say its sports. I'm good at pretty much all of them, but my best ones are basketball and football," she said, briefly explaining the rules of both.

"Huh..." Rainbow Dash said, looking thoughtful. "Basketball and cloudball are kinda the same. That's kinda neat."

"They're the main teams I play for, but I try to help out with all of them," Dashie added. "Dad and Mom always taught me to be generous with my time and talents, help out others where I can."

_...Rarity said that to me when we first started to get to know each other, _Rainbow Dash thought. _Does she represent a different Element than me?_

She thought about it for five seconds before she started getting a headache and decided to just accept it. "Anyway, c'mon rookie. We gotta teach you the basics of ponydom before the Pinkies' party tonight. You gotta be able to hold the cupcakes before you can stuff them in your face."

"Sounds good to me!" Dashie said, grinning."Hey, will there be bacon cupcakes and things like that?"

"..." Rainbow Dash said, biting her lip.

"I gotta have my bacon," Dashie said, licking her lips.

"Tell me, does your Applejack have a farm?" Rainbow Dash asked after a long moment.

"Yeah, why?" Dashie asked.

"Got any animals on it?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Some. Pigs, cows, chickens, horses for riding..." Dashie blinked, thinking of something, and blushed. "Not the riding like the euphemism riding, but like using for transportation. Anyway, none of them talk, not even the horses. There's this one big one, a Clydesdale named Samson..."

Rainbow Dash nodded. "And what does Samson eat?"

Dashie frowned. "Geez, I dunno. Hay, oats, apples, carrots..." Her eyes widened as she began to realize the implications.

Rainbow Dash just nodded.

"N-No tasty piggy flesh?"

_Gross, _Rainbow Dash thought, he expression remaining neutral. "Eeenope."

Dashie's cry of dismay echoed across Ponyville.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

_Princess Burger..._

_Outside lounge..._

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Twilight snickered. "Aaaand, that would be Dashie finding out about her new diet, I'd bet..."

Sunset belched, rubbing her belly as she nibbled at some apple nuggets. The demolished remains of two Double Royal Hayburgers, a large order of fries, and a massive Moon Shake lay nearby, the remnants of the food puddled around her lips. Two little toy keychains of Princess Celestia and Princess Luna were attached to her jacket, the newly minted alicorn rubbing her mouth with a napkin. "Ssssooo gooodd..." she moaned.

Twilight smiled. "Feeling better?"

"I haven't eaten this well in ages!" Sunset said, smiling happily as she wiped her mouth clean of ketchup.

Twilight grinned. "You now have a near unlimited food capacity," she said. "Alicorns need to eat a lot to maintain their magic. Plus, it carries over to human form."

Sunset blinked. "Really?"

Twilight blushed. "I... may have done some excessive snacking while I was helping you girls with the Dazzlings," she said. "Pinkamena knows about it, at any rate."

Sunset snickered. "And now I'll be the envy of every girl there again," she said. "The capacity to put enough away for ten people and STILL not gain an ounce."

The two alicorns giggled. "So, are you excited?" Twilight asked. "You're going to be a princess soon!"

Sunset grimaced. "I still don't know about that, Twilight..." she said. "I mean, I'll be going back soon after the ceremony, and the way the government works on that world my title wouldn't be recognized."

Twilight blinked. "Really? No royalty?"

Sunset nodded. "They use democracy. For all leadership positions," she said, explaining what she knew of the other world's system of government.

Twilight frowned. "Well, democracy is good for local leaders, like Mayor Mare, but for leading the full country?" she said, shaking her head. "Too much chance for corruption. It's why Celestia limited elections to local leaders here in Equestria."

"And I still say it's a better system," Sunset agreed. "Rulers at the top, appointed leaders for country-wide governing, elections for local town officials."

Twilight nodded. And then she chuckled. "Of course, we're kind of spoiled in that Celestia and Luna are immortal, clever, intelligent, and actually care about what happens to us."

Sunset smirked. Her smile then turned happy as she looked around, watching everypony eat and chat, occasionally casting glances at the two alicorns.

"Bit for your thoughts?" Twilight asked.

"It's just..." Sunset said. "After the Elements of Harmony cleansed me of my demon form... Heck, even before that. I was prepared to never be accepted back here again. That Celestia would hate me for betraying her and abandoning her. And yet..."

Twilight nuzzled her. "You feel like you're home. You feel welcome," she said softly.

Tears were in Sunset's eyes. "She forgave me, Twilight. Stupid, arrogant me, and she forgave me..."

"It's who she is, Sunset. She cares about her little ponies, especially her students," Twilight said. "Especially you."

Sunset and Twilight hugged each other tightly. "Welcome back to the herd, Sunset Shimmer," Twilight said. "No matter how far you wander, you'll always have family here."

Sunset shivered softly. "But... I also have family there, too," she said.

"So? Invite them over," Twilight said, grinning. "I'd love to meet them. Do they know you're a pony?"

"They know I'm from another universe," Sunset said, shifting nervously. "I... I ran away when I first saw them, but they kept after me until they cornered me and got me to talk. They understand that I'm not human, and after the Fall Formal, understand that I wasn't lying about magic, but they're still having trouble wrapping their heads around the fact that I'm normally a magical talking pony." She flapped her wings idly. "One that can fly now, apparently. I should probably learn a few of the basics before leaving."

"Heh. Let me teach you. Rainbow Dash is too drill sergeant-y for short lessons," Twilight said.

"Sounds about right," Sunset said, the two alicorns laughing.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

_Canterlot..._

_Donut Joe's..._

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Tia groaned happily, rubbing her swollen belly, her wings splayed out idly. In front of her, a plate that was once filled with forty donuts lay empty save for some crumbs and glaze. "Uuuoogh... Never knew I could eat so much," she said. "And these donuts are SOOO GOOOOD... I'm ruined for my world's donuts."

"One of the finest compliments a baker can receive," Joe almost chirped as he refilled the coffee of the two ivory alicorns.

Celestia giggled. She still had donuts on her plate, having been busy filling out and sending forms to prepare for Sunset's coronation the next day, sending them along their way by burning them in a jar of green dragonflame that she teleported from her office. "I'm glad you're having a good time," she said. "And it's been so fascinating to hear about your world! Although some of it makes little sense to me, such as the taboo against same gender couples."

Tia burped again, blushing. "I wish I had a better explanation for that," she said.

"It's silly," Celestia said. "I mean, love is love. You can't help who you are attracted to."

Tia nodded, smiling. "A good attitude to take," she said. "Everything seems so peaceful here."

"I've done my best to avoid conflicts with other nations," Celestia said proudly. "So far, the only real problems have been internal."

"Yes..." Tia said. "You mentioned that there is a house of nobles?" She smirked. "Are they as obnoxious as I'm imagining them to be?"

"Moreso," Celestia muttered. "Only a couple of them, like Lord Fancypants, are worth talking to. The rest..." She shook her head. "Sometimes I wish I could just poison the lot of them and be done with it. But that would be stooping to below their level. And I will not have that. I just discreetly raise their taxes now and then."

Tia laughed. She watched for a few moments as Celestia signed documents approving resources needed for Sunset Shimmer's coordination. "...Why are you doing this?" Tia asked.

Celestia blinked. "Hm?"

"You do know she's going back after all this. To her human family," Tia said gently.

Celestia closed her eyes, smiling. "I know. And while in your world, the title would not be recognized, it WOULD be recognized here. After taking from Sunset for so long, I wanted to give her something..."

Tia nodded. "I don't know if it would be a good idea for it to get out that she was an alien princess," she said. "Maybe I've watched too many government conspiracy shows, but..." She shook her head.

"An understandable precaution," Celestia said. "Officially here, Sunset's title will be Ambassador to your world. Beyond that, I leave her fate to you and your world's Luna."

"You poor, poor fool," Tia said, chuckling wearily.

Celestia blinked. "Hm?"

"I haven't exactly done well in protecting her so far," Tia said. "When Sunset was still evil, I let her reign of terror go mostly unchecked because she was so good at concealing evidence. I didn't do very much to stop others from bullying Sunset after her reformation because I was angry with her, and..." She sighed wearily. "...And I was completely useless when the Dazzlings showed up. They brainwashed Luna and I first thing."

Celestia set down her quill. "The mistakes of the past are just that – in the past. The only thing that can be done with them is to either ignore them, or to remember them and learn from them," she said.

"I know that," Tia said, frowning. "But how am I supposed to defend against magic? How am I supposed to protect my students if... if, I don't know, Frizzenbopper the Goofy comes over from Equestria and starts turning everyone into clown demons?"

Celestia blinked. "How did you know about Frizzenbopper the Goofy?"

Tia paled, making a frightened squeak.

Celestia giggled. "I'm only teasing," she said. "There's no such villain."

Tia, scowling, tossed a donut at her. Celestia caught it in midair with her magic and ate it. The princess smiled. "Back to the subject... The fact that the Elements of Harmony worked in that reality means that magic lives in your world. It's all a matter of harnessing it."

Tia blinked. "Magic in our world? Really?"

Celestia nodded. "From what you've told me, I've become quite certain of it," she said.

Tia looked down at her hooves. _To have magic... to have REAL power to protect my students..._She smiled at her royal counterpart, and then looked down at her gut, which was flat again despite having been overstuffed before.

"Well if nothing else, my metabolism is magic," Tia joked. "Back home it'd take me weeks to work off the pudge a bender like that would have given me."

"You can always have more," Celestia said. "You'll still have plenty of room before the Pinkie Party this evening."

A grin crossed Tia's face. "You know what? I think I will. More of those donuts, please!" she said.

"And charge it to my expense account, as always," Celestia added.

Donut Joe had to resist the urge to skip as he began to gather more delicious pastries together.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

_Later that evening..._

_Ponyville..._

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

The Double Pinkie Party was on, and it was proving to be a resounding success. Most everypony in town had come, save for the still-suspicious Flower Trio, who were hiding out at Roseluck's place. The Pinkies were proving to be excellent hosts, working in almost perfect unison to help make sure things went well.

Discord was managing most of the entertainment, making various park benches and lamps act out famous scenes in Daring Do novels. Dashie, upon Sunset telling her that their world had an equivalent of the Daring Do series, suddenly found herself with a new love. Eventually, Zecora joined with Discord in the storytelling, adding her own illusions to give the presentations even more dramatic flare.

The Fluttershies, when they weren't watching Discord, were staying out of everypony's way and chatting calmly, comparing notes on how they took care of animals in their worlds, each learning from the other.

Applejack was setting some several apple-themed treats up on the table, while AJ and Rares were chatting excitedly.

"Ah still can't believe it," AJ said. "Them Zap Apples... It's like tasting concentrated happy! Ah just... wow, ah cain't even put it into words how good they were!"

Rares was impressed. "I've heard you extoll the virtues of apples before, darling, but this is rather much, even for you!"

As they talked, Applejack, putting a slice of candied Zap Apple out of her saddlebag, walked up to them. "Remember what I said about kin, and us saving our leftover Zap Apple stock for kin?" she asked.

AJ nodded.

"Fiancees count as kin," Applejack said, tossing the candied Zap Apple slice into Rares's mouth before the unicorn could protest. She closed her mouth, tasting the slice... and her eyes went starry.

AJ frowned, a little worried. "Rares?"

"Sssssh," Rares almost moaned. "I'm having a 'moment.'"

The two Applejacks giggled.

Rainbow Dash was only half paying attention to the party, as she had taken Scootaloo off to fulfill a promise to give her flying lessons. Whenever they took a break, Rainbow Dash would bring her into the party, both to show off her progress and to get some snacks.

Rarity, meanwhile, was relaxing on her chais-lounge, sipping tea calmly and enjoying the festivities, Spike graciously fanning her with a palm frond that he procured from somewhere. She had assured him that he didn't have to, but he insisted.

She really adored Spike sometimes. If it weren't for that blasted age difference, she might even consider him...

Twilight and Sunset were trotting around the party. Several ponies bowed to the two of them, Sunset grinning nervously. "You ever feel awkward with ponies kowtowing to you all the time?"

"Every damn day," Twilight muttered. "But I've given up trying to get them to stop. It doesn't hurt anything, and the ponies I'm friends with still treat me as a friend, so that's what counts."

Sunset smiled. "I suppose it does," she said, glancing over at the snack tables. Two Marzipan Mascarpone Meringue Madness cakes adored the center table, one made for the public and one reserved solely for the two Celestias, who looked to be in absolute bliss. Princess Luna, meanwhile, was enjoying a piece from the public cake and teasing her sister and otherworldly counterpart.

Sunset chuckled. "Honestly, I think things are going pretty well," she said.

"Hey, I gots an idea!" Apple Bloom said suddenly, having been working the mix tables with Vinyl Scratch. "The otherworlders that came with Princess Sunset are musicians, why not have them play somethin' for us?"

"I just had to jinx it, didn't I?" Sunset muttered.

"It's the Cutie Mark Crusaders effect. I've done studies on it," Twilight chuckled wearily. "Still don't have an answer for it."

The other ponies at the party latched onto the idea of a concert and began cheering for it, the Rainbooms becoming nervous.

"Um..." AJ said. "We... We barely know how to hold things with hooves. Usin' actual instruments..."

"We don't know how to play as ponies," Rares clarified.

Discord shrugged, and snapped his fingers. Light flashed before the eyes of the six Rainbooms, dizziness overcoming them briefly as found their minds suddenly filled with knowledge of how to play their instruments as well as they did in their human forms.

"Now you do know how to play," Discord said, snapping his fingers again and creating musical instruments for them to play, along with a stage.

The Rainbooms all gathered together in front of the stage, talking intently for a moment. Sunset looked up and said, "Give us a minute. We'll be ready to perform shortly."

The crowd cheered.

The group went backstage, taking their instruments with them. "Talk about an infodump," Dashie said, rubbing her forehead. "I'm still dizzy."

"A concert's fine, darlings," Rares said, "Especially since we know how to play as ponies now... But what will we sing?"

"Um..." Flutters said softly. "I did have a couple songs in mind..."

Everyone turned to her expectantly. Flutters squeaked in fright, and said, "I... um... I prepared a couple songs for our concert against the Dazzlings. I was thinking we could play Shine Like Rainbows?"

The others looked thoughtful for a long moment, humming the lyrics to themselves, their forehooves unconsciously going through the motions of playing. Sunset grinned. "Okay, I think we can work with that."

The Rainbooms went out onto the stage to polite applause. Their Equestrian counterparts all sat in the front row with Celestia, Tia, and Luna, watching expectantly.

"Alright, everypony!" Sunset said. "Let's have a little fun!" The crowd cheered, and they began to play.

AJ started the song. "Once upon a time, you came into my world and made the stars align..."

Rares continued it. "Now, I can see the signs, you pick me up when I get down so I can shine..."

"Shine like rainbows!" the group sang. As they played, magic swirled around the square as the Rainbooms lost themselves in the music. A wave of pure Harmony washed out over the crowd, filling everypony with joy, the Rainbow Power triggering in Twilight and the Elements.

Only Celestia and Discord showed any negative effects, flinching as the Harmony wave washed over them. Neither seemed to notice, nor did anyone else.

The wave of Harmony spread out over the forest, becoming a single beam of light that transformed into the Rainbow of Light itself, strengthened by the music of the Rainbooms. It pierced through an unholy gate deep within Everfree, lashing down past the hordes of the damned and demonic... and piercing through a small burlap bag, held within the bedroom of a slumbering demon king. From inside the bag the Rainbow of Darkness burst forth, swirling joyously around the Rainbow of Light.

_I am free! _the Rainbow of Darkness thought happily.

_Yes_, the Rainbow of Light thought back. _Never again will you be used for evil_.

The two Rainbows flew out of the demon king's castle and into the skies over Equestria, a feeling of peace overcoming everypony in the nation, the feeling spreading out to all the species of the world. And when the demon king woke up and found his long enslaved prize gone, his impotent, helpless rage would echo across the canyons of Tartarus for days.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

_Meanwhile..._

_Twilight's castle..._

_Mirror room..._

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Two guards stood at attention in the room. Both were bored out of their skulls.

"Aw, geez," muttered Swift Saber, the mare listening to the song play. "The new ponies are doing a concert now! And we're missing it!"

Her partner, Power Words, just chuckled. "Now now, Swift," he said. "It's our responsibility to guard the mirror when Princess Twilight is out in the field."

"She's out in the field having a party," Swift Saber muttered.

"You really want to begrudge Princess Twilight some fun with all the work she does," Power Words said, quirking an eyebrow.

Swift Saber sighed. "No, I'm just... I'm jealous and I'm bored," she said. "Why are we even here?"

"Something may come out of the mirror," Power Words said simply.

Swift Saber groaned. "NOTHING is going to come out of this mirror. I guarantee it. Princess Twilight told us that the connecting element in the other world is a statue. And NOPONY is going to be dumb enough to fall into a statue at random."

"You think so?" Power Words said, amused.

Swift Saber nodded. "I betcha anything. I bet my booty on it," she said, smirking.

Power Words blushed. "Well, it is a nice booty..."

Swift Saber scoffed, but she was smiling and blushing. "SO confident am I that we're never gonna have to do anything, that I will make a bet with you. If you win, I will take you on a date, me paying for everything that ends with both of us in bed together." She smirked. "And you on top of me, if you get my drift. You're just cute enough that I'd let you."

Power Words grinned, blushing brightly. "And if you win?"

"I want one of those MMMM supercakes the Cakes make," Swift Saber said. "All to myself. And you have to deliver it and do a little sexy dance for me in socks."

Power Words laughed. He was confident enough in his manhood that he could deal with having that as his end of the bargain. And truthfully, he thought she was right, that nothing would ever happen. But duty was duty. (Besides, if he was reading this conversation right, he'd probably get to have fun with her either way.) "I accept those terms," Power Words said.

"SWEET!" Swift Saber cheered. "I've got the socks all picked out, and..."

The mirror's portal magic flared, dumping out a unicorn that looked like Twilight Sparkle, only with her mane in a bun and wearing glasses and a lab coat, her cutie mark a pair of crossed test tubes over a DNA helix design. Soon after, an alicorn that resembled Princess Luna tumbled out, wearing a pink shirt, her cutie mark that of a trio of white, black, and gray balloons.

"Whu..." the not-Twilight said, dizzily trying to stand up on her hind hooves. "What... What!?" She fell over, looking at her hooves in shock. "What is this?! What happened to me?! Vice-Principal Luna, what's going on?!"

The not-Luna glared at her. "I told you to go inside the school, Sparkle!" she said. "Then we wouldn't be in this mess and... oooh, wings..." The not-Luna flexed her wings, admiring them.

"Quit being distracted, this is serious!" the not-Twilight said. "We... uh oh..." The two otherworlders turned, noticing the guards for the first time.

"..." Swift Saber said, staring.

Power Words laughed. He couldn't help it. "Wow, an instant victory!" he said. "By the way? Don't move."

Both Power Words and Swift Saber pointed their lances at the two newcomers, who grinned nervously.

"Well, this is certainly a fine mess you've gotten us into, Sparkle..." Vice-Principal Luna grumbled.

_**TO BE CONTINUED...**_


	4. The Coronation of Sunset Shimmer - 1

_**Waking Nightmares – Magic Lives**_

_**An Equestria Girls fanfiction**_

_**by Jonathan "KnightMysterio" Spires**_

_**Chapter 4: The Coronation of Sunset Shimmer – Part 1**_

_All characters not original copyrighted to their original owners, used for non-profit amusement reasons. All original characters copyrighted to me. Comments, compliments, and constructive criticism are appreciated and encouraged. Flames will be ignored. Events of this section of the story take place two years before the start of Waking Nightmares. _

_ As always, if you feel so inclined, please support me on Patreon!_

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

_Twenty minutes ago..._

_Human world..._

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

"It's been almost a day since you've left..." Vice-Principal Luna said softly, staring at the statue. The night sky was above her, the moon shining down on her pale, bluish skin gently. She hesitantly touched the statue, feeling its surface ripple with magic as her hand passed through. She quickly drew it back, and sighed.

"I don't even know how you're doing over in that world," Luna said. "Are you happy? Are you a prisoner? Just what are those ponies doing to you?"

She fidgeted nervously for a few moments, and shook her head. "I suppose I'll just have to wait until you come back from Equestria, I suppose," Luna said. "Good night, dear sister..."

"Excuse me," said a voice.

Vice-Principal Luna yelped, whirling. Beside her was a very familiar young woman in a lab coat, her hair up in a bun and a pair of glasses on her face. Luna stared. "Twilight? Princess Twilight, what are you doing here?"

"Princess?" said the lab-coated, lavender-skinned young woman. "Er... Vice-Principal Luna, perhaps you're mistaking me for someone else? My name is Twilight Sparkle yes, but I'm not a Princess. I play for the Crystal Prep athletics team, the Shadowbolts." She muttered. "Not that I actually want to... don't even like sports..."

The name Crystal Prep snapped Luna out of her confusion, reminding her of the absurdly long, unbroken string of defeats their school had suffered against them. _Crystal Prep... Yes, I remember now! She just started playing a couple years ago, the same year that Sunset first showed up... _Luna stared at her. "Didn't even make the connection..." she said softly. The pony Twilight was so different in manner and demeanor from the young scientist before her that they might as well be different people entirely.

Twilight Sparkle frowned. "Are you all right? What did you mean by 'didn't even make the connection?'" she asked.

"Nothing," Luna said quickly, unable to keep herself from glancing at the statue, Twilight taking note of it. "So... what brings you to Canterlot High at this time of night?"

"Curiosity," Twilight said, adjusting her glasses. "I've heard... wild rumors about this place. About magic, and a girl who's supposed to be dead showing up and turning into a demon. A trio of hypnotic singers brainwashing the entire student body, only to be bested by a giant magical winged unicorn. Rather... unusual, wouldn't you say?" Twilight narrowed her eyes, giving Luna a suspicious look.

_EEP! _Luna thought, keeping her face as neutral as possible. _I have no idea how to deal with this!_

"As for why I'm here this evening..." Twilight shrugged. "I'm transferring to Canterlot High fairly soon. I am not comfortable with Principal Cinch's requirements that all students participate in athletics. And she gives me the creeps."

"That one I'll believe," Luna muttered. The head of the Crystal Prep school gave her the creeps as well.

Twilight turned, looking at the statue. "You were talking to this statue earlier," she said. "Why?"

"No reason," Luna said, trying not to panic, knowing that her evasiveness was probably making this Twilight Sparkle even more suspicious. "SO! Transferring here. Finally got tired of that blowhard Cinch, eh?"

Twilight Sparkle just nodded, studying the statue carefully. She took a step towards it.

A trickle of nervous sweat made its way down Luna's face. "L-Let's go inside and talk," she said. "I have some hot chocolate and marshmallows and..."

Twilight Sparkle's face perked up briefly at the mention of hot chocolate, but she quickly turned her attention back to the statue. "Your sudden eagerness to get me away from the statue suggests that it is a key element in my investigations... Perhaps there is something unique about it?"

"I have no idea what you mean," Luna said in a voice as calm as she could manage (translation: borderline panicking). "Let's go inside and talk about your transfer!"

Twilight Sparkle ignored her, walking up to the statue and gently touching its base. To her surprise, her hand passed through the surface of the statue, the surface of it rippling like water. Twilight Sparkle jumped back, startled.

"Huh... A false wall," Twilight Sparkle said, smirking. "A hologram to disguise the gateway to an underground lair?"

_Oh no, _Luna thought. "Twilight Sparkle," she said, her tone deadly serious. "Whatever you think is happening right now, you are wrong. Things are happening right now that you will not understand, and going through that statue will put you in grave danger. COME INSIDE. I will explain what I can. Do not take the risk, Twilight Sparkle. The unknown through that gateway is something that no one here can fully comprehend."

Twilight Sparkle just quirked an amused eyebrow. "You do realize that was the absolute worst thing you could have said to a scientist, right?" she said, more determined than ever to pass through this gate. "And while I wasn't fond of my time at Crystal Prep, what I DID learn from Cinch is this – if you want something, go for it! With RUTHLESS AGGRESSION!"

Before Luna could stop her, Twilight Sparkle dashed into the portal. Her scream of fright as she fell through the gateway into the other world came soon after. Luna facepalmed.

"Ooooh, Celestia's gonna kill me," she said, leaping into the portal after her. Almost immediately, she felt her body start to dissolve, the change occurring almost immediately. Her body went numb, save for the feeling of something growing out of her forehead, back, and just above her rump, her fists clenching and her fingers seemingly fusing together, her entire skeleton restructuring itself to a form more suited for the world she was entering.

Roughly, she was dumped out right next to Twilight Sparkle. She groaned, dazedly, picking herself back up onto her... hooves?

Whu-oh...

"Well, this is odd..." Luna understated, looking herself over. She was now a blue, horse-like being with black splotches on her back, the symbol of three party balloons on her rump, colored black, white, and gray. Her tail and mane looked like astral clouds of night, and she now sported a long horn on her forehead. She still had her shirt, although to her dismay, that was the only part of her clothing to remain.

Next to her, Twilight Sparkle, having become a lavender unicorn wearing a lab coat and glasses, was starting to regain consciousness. And almost immediately, she started to panic.

"Whu..." Twilight Sparkle said, dizzily trying to stand up on her hind hooves. "What... What!?" She fell over, looking at her hooves in shock. "What is this?! What happened to me?! Vice-Principal Luna, what's going on?!"

Luna glared at her. "I told you to go inside the school, Sparkle!" she said. "Then we wouldn't be in this mess and... oooh, wings..." She had flared her wings unconsciously during the yelling, the feeling startling her. _Well now. Wings too? _she thought.

"Quit being distracted, this is serious!" Twilight Sparkle almost shrieked. "We... uh oh..." The two humans-turned-pony turned, noticing the guards for the first time.

The feminine-looking unicorn guard just stared at them, her jaw dropped in stunned shock. The masculine-looking unicorn laughed. "Wow, an instant victory!" he said. "By the way? Don't move."

Both guards pointed their lances at the two newcomers, who grinned nervously.

"Well, this is certainly a fine mess you've gotten us into, Sparkle..." Vice-Principal Luna grumbled.

"Just stay calm..." Twilight Sparkle said in a quiet voice. "We're not gonna be captured by these space aliens..."

Luna frowned. "Sparkle, we've been launched into another world via a magic portal and turned into these 'space aliens.' How in blazes are you going to get away?"

"Just stay calm," Twilight Sparkle said tightly. "I have a plan. Also, don't say magic. It doesn't exist. We just have to wait until their backs are turned, and..."

"You do know we can hear every word you two are saying, don't you?" the female guard asked.

"I do," Luna said, sighing. "I'm not sure she does, though."

Twilight Sparkle's eyes widened. And then she lunged at the two guards, desperate to get away, panic having overtaken her common sense. "NO SPACE ALIEN IS GONNA GET ME!"

The attack was clumsy. The two guards were able to knock her out easily.

The male rubbed his temples, levitating the unconscious human-turned-unicorn. Luna watched in fascination as his horn glowed. The male turned to his companion and said, "Swift Saber, get the Princesses and our 'guests.' I have a feeling they're gonna want to see this."

The female nodded. "What are you going to do with that one, Power Words?" she asked.

"Dump her in the brig," he said, turning to Luna and adding, "and hopefully, just her."

Luna grinned nervously.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

_Now..._

_Pony world..._

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

"Thank you for not imprisoning me with her," Vice-Principal Luna said, smiling at the guard.

Power Words smiled. "Well, you proved to be much more cooperative than your friend, there," he said.

"YOUR ALIEN WAYS WILL NOT GET THE BEST OF ME!" Twilight Sparkle shrieked, hiding under her cell's cot. In the next cell over, the Dazzlings cracked up laughing again.

"She's noisy," Swift Saber said, the returning unicorn barely resisting the urge to poke the panicking human-turned-unicorn.

"She's scared," Vice-Principal Luna said, sighing. "Can't blame her... well, maybe a little. Since I told her NOT TO TOUCH THE DAMN _**STATUE**_!" She lapsed into the Royal Canterlot Voice unintentionally on the last word, putting her hooves to her mouth in shock. The force of the word knocked Twilight Sparkle and her bed up against the side of her cell, her already frazzled look now accompanied by a shocked stare.

Power Words rubbed his ears, wincing. "Yeah. Future reference, alicorns have HUGE lunge capacity," she said.

Swift Saber glared at her with amusement. "YOU are noisy."

"Friggin' shouty royals..." Adagio muttered, she and her sisters visibly pained by the shout.

"S-Sorry..." Vice-Principal Luna said.

Swift Saber chuckled. "It's okay," she said. "Anyway, our Luna and the others said they'd be here shortly, they just wanted to see the party guests off first."

"How's my Celestia doing?" Vice-Principal Luna asked.

"Having a blast," Swift Saber said, grinning. "Also, she told me to mention that she was going by Tia here. All the natives of your world are using nicknames."

Vice-Principal Luna nodded. "I think I remember the students saying that," she said. "Well... It makes sense, nonetheless. I will go by Lulu for the duration of my stay."

"As you command, Princess Lulu," Swift Saber and Power Words said in unison.

The newly renamed alicorn grimaced. "Just... Just Lulu, please. I'm not royalty," she said.

Power Words chuckled. "Sorry. Reflex. We're supposed to be respectful to alicorns, as they're all royalty."

"Ah, but this is a party!" Celestia said, striding into the room with her counterpart behind her, the Rainbooms and former Element Bearers following behind her. "And parties are meant to be enjoyed!"

Lulu turned, seeing her double standing in the doorway with all the others. "Oh wow..." Luna said. The native alicorn could feel her counterpart's magical aura, feel how almost exactly alike it was.

"This is... verily, 'tis odd..." Luna said, staring back at her clone, not without amusement. "One would think she was a mirror pool clone, save for a few details."

"So... You're me on this world..." Lulu said softly. "You're what I look like here..." She looked Luna over some more, and said, "And if we look the same... Then I'm freakin' adorable."

Luna blinked. "Sister, we approve of our twin," she said, earning a chuckle from both Celestias. The gathered ponies started to relax, the Pinkies giggling.

"So how'd you get over here anyway?" Dashie asked, flying up to her.

"Well..." Lulu said, quickly explaining her nickname in this world first. "A new friend of ours decided to show up and completely ignore my safety warnings about not touching the statue."

Princess Twilight Sparkle nodded. "Yes... The message said it was your world's version of me..." she said, stepping forward. "May I see her?"

"YOU JUST STAY BACK, EVIL ALIENS!" screamed the other Twilight from inside the jail. The laughter of the Dazzlings followed soon after.

"Well, if you can pull her out of hiding," Swift Saber quipped.

Princess Twilight giggled, and went into the holding area. True to what they had said, the other Twilight was hiding underneath her bed. "Not supposed to be this way..." Twilight muttered. "Just wanted to get away... Just wanted to feel like I accomplished something without being bullied into it."

Princess Twilight opened the cell and sat down by the bed, smiling. "...Do you want to talk about it?"

Twilight peered nervously out from underneath the bed, staring at her alicorn counterpart. "...You're the other me," she said softly. "The one that was sighted at those 'magical' events."

Princess Twilight nodded. "Sunset, would you come in here please?" she said. Sunset nodded, the golden alicorn joining her fellow former student by the cell. Twilight stared at her.

"...And you're supposed to be dead," she said flatly.

"Same event in both worlds, different outcome," Sunset said, smiling weakly and shrugging. "Here it was my parents that died..."

"...and in my world it was you that died," Twilight said.

Sunset nodded. Princess Twilight smiled. "You mentioned wanting to feel like you accomplished something without being bullied into it..."

Twilight chuckled weakly. "My family's attended Crystal Prep for generations. My brother went there... he's supportive in his own way, and a good person, but he's still a prime example of Crystal Prep's 'absolute victory' stance on everything. The faculty, the staff, they all push personal accomplishment above all else. Do whatever it takes to win. Better yourself, and who cares what others think? Dean Cadance, my old babysitter, was better about it than others. She actually gave a damn about us... Cinch was the worst about it... she's obsessed with maintaining the school's reputation, with HER reputation. Every day, I'd do my best to help the school, but the kids..."

Princess Twilight sighed. "They made you pay for being the smartest kid in class," she said softly.

"Huh boy," Sunset said, scowling. "That brings up some unpleasant memories."

Twilight just nodded. "When the magic events started, I was already starting to consider transferring... I talked to Cadance and my brother about... almost didn't, really. Glad I did, though. Cadance always cared for the students well-being and... well, Shining Armor's my BBBFF. Of course he cares about me. He's the one who convinced me to stand up to Principal Cinch and start the transfer process."

Sunset blinked. "Um..."

Princess Twilight beamed. "Big Brother Best Friend Forever," she explained. "I use it too." Sunset giggled.

Twilight grinned nervously. "I guess... I'm sorry I panicked," she said, crawling out from underneath the bed. "It's just... This is so much more than I was expecting..."

Princess Twilight smiled benevolently. Sunset was taken aback, because in that moment, Princess Twilight so very, very much resembled Princess Celestia. "I know it's a lot to take in. And it can be scary too, moving so fast and learning so much at once. But you don't have to go it alone," Princess Twilight said. The purple alicorn turned, gesturing to the humans-turned-ponies near the entrance, who had all subconsciously grouped up. "You have a lot of wonderful people here who'd love to help you get through it all, and be your friends."

"Of course," Sunset agreed, nodding.

Dashie nodded. "You know it," she said, smiling.

"Certainly I always enjoy meeting new people," Rares added.

"Aw shucks," AJ said. "Ah'm always willin' to make a new pal."

Flutters smiled. "I'd certainly enjoy being your friend," she said.

"Sure sure! Be glad ta meet you! Oooh, and I have to plan your 'Welcome to Canterlot High' party!" Pinkamena said.

"And Tia and I will be happy to assist you in your transition," Lulu said, Tia nodding in agreement.

Twilight grinned. "Thank you..." she said. "And... um... Sorry for calling you evil space aliens."

"Technically you're the alien," Swift Saber said. "But eh, don't worry about it. I've been called worse."

Power Words nodded. "Don't worry about it. All part of the job," he said.

Pinkamena bounced up to her. "One more thing I just remembered! So things don't get confusing, could ya pick a nickname here so we don't call both of you Twilight? We all did!"

Twilight blinked, startled by Pinkamena's exuberance. "Oh... um... I guess... calling me Twily would be okay... My brother and Cadance use that nickname a lot..." she said, blushing a little.

Princess Twilight smiled, nuzzling her. "Twily it is, then," she said.

Celestia stepped forward. "Well, my little ponies, this has been a lovely party. But my sister and I must perform our duties for the evening. And we have a coronation to get ready for tomorrow," she said.

The Equestrian natives all nodded, they and the visitors following the two elder princesses outside. Twily, still not used to her four-legged form, tripped over her labcoat, a small, round device falling out.

"What's this?" Twilight asked, picking it up with her magic. Almost immediately, the device glowed, starting to drain away her aura. Sunset immediately swatted it away, the drain reversing and Twilight's magic flowing back into her body. The device hit the far wall with enough force to break.

"Explain," Sunset demanded.

Twily whimpered. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! It's just... It's a device I invented to collect and study the strange energies around Canterlot High. I didn't know it could drain living beings...":

"I'm fine," Twilight said, quickly recovering from the brief mana drain, retrieving the pieces of the device and giving them back to Twily. "But... in the future, you need to be cautious around magic. If you misuse it, it can destroy you, or turn you into a monster. Sunset, you're the most familiar with magic. Can you teach her once you get back to the other world?"

Sunset nodded, looking worried. "I suppose so," she said. "I'm still trying to figure out how it works in that world... I've got some ideas for tests..."

Celestia nodded. "I place my faith and trust in you, Sunset. Young Twily, no blame is placed on you for what happened. But now we must attend to our duties. You may come watch, if you want," she said, she and Luna turning to walk outside.

Sunset grinned. "C'mon, this is cool," she said.

The group filed out, leaving the Dazzlings and the two guards.

"Alone again," Swift Saber said, melodramatically posing.

"Naturally," Power Words said, chuckling.

Inside the cage, Aria Blaze stared thoughtfully after Twily as she walked out with the others. Adagio poked her. "What's with you?"

Aria shrugged. "I dunno," she said. "I just think that the little nerdy version of Twilight is... kinda cute. In a dorky way."

Sonata giggled. "Aria thinks Nerdlight is adorkable," she said in a sing-songy voice. "Aria has a crush!"

"I do not!" Aria barked, glaring at Sonata.

"Seriously?" Adagio said, baffled. "On her? And then there's the fact that you never seemed to show interest whenever someone was flirting with us..."

Aria scowled. "I had to compete against your hotness and Sonata's dim-witted cuteness. I got nothing to compete with that," she muttered, laying down on the cell's cot and staring at the wall. "Probably doesn't even matter this time around... Bet she's not even into girls..."

Adagio frowned, not sure what to say. She'd never brought up anything like this before. She looked to Sonata, only to find that the cerulean former Siren was flitting her wings mischievously, a sly smile on her face. "Huh boy..." Adagio said.

"Sonata's got a dumb 'Gonna be a matchmaker' expression on her face, doesn't she?" Aria grumbled.

"Eeyup," Adagio said.

"You're the worst, Sonata," Aria muttered.

"We'll see if you still say that once my romantic mastery puts you and Nerdlight together and you're makin' smoochy smoochy under the stars!" Sonata cackled.

"Dagi, do me a favor and smother Sonata?" Aria said, holding up the cot's pillow.

"Solve your own problems," Adagio said with a grin.

"I cannot be killed, for the world loves me and has made me immortal!" Sonata said, letting out an evil laugh. "The Great God of Tacos, Texmexicoatl, has made me her avatar and..."

"In case you haven't noticed, lamebrain," Aria growled, "we're their enemies. I doubt they'll give us a chance."

Sonata giggled. "They're a bunch of friendship geeks," she said. "So long as we behave I betcha anything I can get you and Nerdlight on a date in a week."

"You say that like we'll be sent back to the human world," Aria muttered.

"Well, it makes sense that they would, right? Here there's a chance we can gain our magic back. I think. But magic's borderline crippled in the human world. We'll be trapped in normal forms and have to feed like the natives do," Sonata said.

Adagio quirked an eyebrow. "Way to make our depressing situation sound like an actual good thing, salsa-breath... And besides, you fed like that anyway. I just don't understand your obsession with tacos..." she said.

Sonata giggled. "I'll convert you to the Religion of Texmex later. Point is, don't give up hope on actually getting a chance at romance, Aria!" she said.

Adagio looked thoughtful for moment, and nodded. "As terrifying as the idea is, Sonata's got a point. And even if we don't get sent back to the human world, you're prettier than you think you are, Aria."

Aria glared at her. "You insult the two of us daily," she said.

"I'm your big sister. I'm supposed to be domineering and mean to you. Besides, I only mean about..." she paused, thinking about it. "...about a fifth of what I say to you."

"SO comforting," Aria grumped.

Adagio grinned. "Trust me. When have I ever steered you wrong?"

Sonata and Aria just stared at her. "Sonata, do me a favor and smother Dagi?" Aria said after a moment, giving her the cot's pillow.

"I shall smother her with TICKLES!" Sonata cackled, tackling her older sister, the air soon filled with Adagio's laughter and frustrated snarls. Aria just picked up the pillow Sonata dropped and lay down for a nap.

Power Words and Swift Saber just watched the exchange with amusement. For bad guys, they were absurdly cute...

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

_Meanwhile..._

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Everypony gathered outside the castle, Celestia and Luna taking to the sky. Sunset whispered something to Twilight, who giggled and nodded, the both of them turning to Twily.

"W-What are you going to do?" the unicorn asked nervously.

"Just temporarily expand your perceptions a little. This will show you what's happening as Celestia and Luna make full use of their talents," Sunset said, she and Twilight touching their glowing horns to Twily's head. She felt a tingling sensation in her eyes, an aura spreading out from Twily to everypony there...

...And then it began.

It started with Princess Celestia. She suddenly began glowing all over as her power flared, a fiery hand of energy reaching out and pushing the sun down over the horizon, completing the sunset. The alicorn of the sun blazed as bright as her namesake as she ended the day.

Princess Luna's turn was next. Instead of a bright, fiery light, darkness flowed over her body like water, reaching off into the distance. Before the shocked eyes of the humans-turned-ponies, the moon was pulled into view, rising with a soft gentle glow. Luna then gestured, the stars igniting in the sky with a glittering sparkle, forming intricate, beautiful patterns.

The visitors watched in awe as the two royal alicorns lowered themselves to the ground, the perception spell fading, the enhanced auras fading to no more than just glowing horns as the sisters landed.

"Wow..." Tia said softly.

Lulu just nodded, too stunned to say anything more. The other transformed humans were in similar states of awe.

Twily, however, had a starry eyed grin on her face. "I have so many questions..." she almost squeed.

Celestia and Luna traded amused smirks. Twilight and Sunset smiled at each other. "Bringing back some memories?" Sunset asked.

"That was pretty much my expression when I saw Princess Celestia raising the sun for the first time," Twilight said. She turned to the gathered visitors and said, "My castle is much larger on the inside than it is on the outside. There's several guest rooms if you wish to stay the evening."

"Oooh, that's right," Dashie said. "We didn't ever work out where we was gonna stay on this little field trip..."

"I suppose that staying with you will be all right," Tia said. "A guarded castle, that should be safe enough..."

Applejack came forward. "You sure, Twi? Ah can arrange a space for at least some of them?"

Fluttershy nodded. "And I'm sure that Discord can make new rooms in my house for them to stay in. That will most likely not drive them insane... I think... Um... Forget I said anything..." she said, blushing and backing off.

The native Equestrians shared a nervous giggle. "I have the space in this castle," Twilight said. "I might as well use it. Plus, it'll be a good place to meet the chariots to take us to Canterlot tomorrow..."

"Yeah..." Sunset said, shaking her head in disbelief. "My coronation..."

Celestia nuzzled her. "You've more than earned it, in my view," she said. "My student, my friend, my precious Sunset. For my own mistakes, this is the least I can do for you."

Twily blinked. Coronation? This was the first she'd heard of it.

Sunset sighed, smiling. "I... Thank you, Celestia. I just... I'm not sure I deserve it..."

Luna stepped forward, smiling benevolently. "You've more than made up for your past mistakes. You have learned how great a magic friendship can be, and overcome a powerful threat in the form of the Sirens. Methinks thou hast earned a royal station, and a chance to represent Equestria in the other world."

Twilight nodded in agreement, as did Dashie, AJ, Rares, Pinkamena, and Flutters. Sunset blushed, tearing up a little. "Thank you..."

Rares spoke up. She couldn't help it. "Besides, I've always wanted to design dresses for royalty, and now I have a chance!"

"Oooh, so jealous," Rarity said. "Hyu-mans wear clothes more often so you'll actually be able to convince your princess to model for you!"

Everypony cracked up at that. They all said their goodbyes for the evening, Luna and Celestia teleporting back to Canterlot (although not before Celestia absconded with the majority of the leftover cake). Twilight, after putting a sleepy Spike to bed, guided the others to the guest rooms, pairing each of them off. Tia and Lulu took one room, Sunset and Twily another, AJ and Rares in another, Pinkamena and Dashie in another, and Flutters alone, the yellow pegasus content to just sleep with her bunny.

As Flutters was settling down for the night, though, she got a visitor. Discord, in pink pajamas with a cap and bunny slippers, appeared in the bed next to her.

"Oh!" Flutters said, startled by his appearance.

"It's all right, my dear Doubleshy," the draconequus said, grinning playfully. "You made quite an impression on me when we met earlier, and I decided to keep you company this evening, give you a little entertainment before bed."

Flutters smiled, blushing a little. "There's multiple ways someone could take that," she said.

It took a moment for Discord to get it. When he did, he laughed. "Oh, tish tosh. I don't even have that anatomy. At the moment," he said. "No, for all my faults, I am a gentleman, my dear. Now, let's see... something pleasant... Ah, here we go. This took place during my bad old days, but trust me, Grogar deserves every bit of comic misery I inflicted on him..."

Flutters smiled, contentedly listening as Discord told a hilarious story about a rival warlord. She could tell he was leaving some parts out, but she didn't mind. She truly liked this strange creature.

In another room, Rares and AJ were sharing a bed, the two engaged lovers cuddling close after a few minutes of awkwardness as they tried to figure out how to position themselves.

"Well. Certainly is a lot happenin' at once," AJ said.

Rares nodded, kissing AJ on the cheek. "Indeed, my love," she said. "First we save the world from the Dazzlings, and then we get to watch our friend become a princess!"

"You certainly seemed excited fer makin' 'Princess Sunset' yer new model," AJ teased. "You that excited about seeing her with her clothes off?"

Rares blushed. "Oh, phooey. You know you're the only one for me," she said. "I just get starstruck from time to time. Especially if it's one of my friends who's becoming said star."

AJ shook her head. "Y'all amaze me sometimes," she said.

Rares blinked, smiling. "How so, darling?"

"You handle things so easily," AJ said. "All this... Magic, and bein' a pony... Ah'm still tryin' to wrap my head around most of it."

"Maybe if you took your hat off more, things could actually get in your head," Rares teased, giggling.

AJ laughed, and kissed her. Rares smiled, and added, "Still, there's a very good reason I'm 'handling this so well.' I have your strength to bolster my own."

AJ blushed, grinning.

In another room, Pinkamena had already fallen asleep, snoring happily. Dashie just stared at her, shaking her head after a moment and staring out the window.

She knew that there were more important things she should be focusing on. More important questions she should be asking. But right now? Only one thing was on Dashie's mind: Would she be able to find a way to fly as easily as she did here back home? The sky was addictive to her. The feel of the wind in her mane and feathers... she'd never felt such pleasure before. She silently prayed that the magic of her own world would grant her that wish. And the more she thought about it, the more scared she got. Because for the briefest moment, the thought of abandoning her world just so she could stay and fly passed through her head. She quickly dismissed it as a selfish thought, but it wouldn't go away...

In another room, Sunset was showing Twily the basics of magic, teaching her how to levitate small objects. In this instance, a piece of cake leftover from the party.

"You're thinking too much," Sunset admonished gently. "This isn't like the science of your world. You just have to let it flow through you."

Twily frowned, giving the piece of cake she was trying to levitate a frustrated glare. She concentrated, trying to focus and let the magical energies she felt inside herself 'just flow.' But every time she tried, she would start wondering about the various mechanics behind the magic, causing what little glow that came to her horn to fade.

Sunset sighed, yawning. "Well... maybe this is too much for when we're about to go to bed," she said.

Twily sighed. "I suppose... It's frustrating not to be able to understand something..." she said.

Sunset smiled. "I'll be more than willing to teach you," she said. "Your world may not have much magic, but it has enough to work with." She lay down. "Now if only I can figure out how to work with it..."

Twily hesitated. "...I have a lot of equipment at home," she said. "I used it to make the amulet that hurt Princess Twilight earlier."

Sunset looked thoughtful. "...That might work," she said. "If we can capture and analyze some of the magical energy..."

The two intelligent ponies began to talk, discussing how to adapt magic to science and vice versa. And as they spoke, both began to feel more and ease, a bond beginning to form.

In the last of the guest rooms, Tia and Lulu were conversing.

"So that's what this tattoo on my butt is," Lulu said, looking at the dark balloons adorning her flank. "Huh..."

Tia nodded. "Most likely they represent your ability to organize fun school events," she said. "Certainly the students have never had any complaints."

Lulu smiled. "Sometimes you have to be a bit childish to understand what children need," she said.

Tia laughed. "Probably why you and the Pinkies get along so well," she said.

Lulu giggled. She then sighed. "...Do you really think it's okay for Sunset to become a princess? She's been through a lot," she said. "And we haven't been much help to her..."

"Because we haven't tried to understand her or her culture," Tia said. "All we know of her is the bully that showed up at our school a few years ago and started taking over. When she actually started to reform, we did little to keep her from being bullied back." She shook her head. "That's done with. No matter what they've done, I'm never ignoring the plight of a student again."

"A noble thought, sister, but it still doesn't answer my question," Lulu said.

Tia sighed, looking thoughtful for a moment. "...I don't know," she admitted. "As I said, we know nothing of Sunset's culture or upbringing. Plus, there's a mother-daughter relationship between Sunset and Celestia that I didn't know about. The best we can do in this situation, I think, is trust both Sunset, the Princesses, and Twilight."

Lulu snickered. "Which one? We've got two now," she said.

Tia rolled her eyes. "You know which," she said.

Lulu smiled. "Still... with all the questions still up in the air," she said, "there is one thing I'm dead certain of."

"What's that?" Tia asked.

"Tomorrow is going to be FANTASTIC," Lulu said cheerfully.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

_Elsewhere..._

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

"Confirmed, my lord. Celestia's lost student, Sunset Shimmer, has returned as an alicorn. That's the reason for tomorrow's coronation ceremony."

"Blast. Another one?"

"There's more. Our spies have reported that she's brought over several others from the other world, including the counterparts of Twilight Sparkle, Celestia, and Luna. The first is a unicorn, but the latter two are alicorns like this world's versions."

"Damnation... More of those upstart heroes..."

"Relax, old boy. Everything's planned out."

"We're dealing with six alicorns, you fool. Seven if you include Cadance, my own informants have told me she's coming to the coronation tomorrow."

"Which only means we'll have seven to kill instead of four. I have all of this planned out, old friend."

"But will the mythril weapons be enough? It took us so much to get them. If we can't use them to..."

"Calm down. We've bribed the appropriate guards, and our people will be in position tomorrow. Tomorrow, the only thing being crowned will be a unicorn king. As it was before, and as it will be again."

_**TO BE CONTINUED...**_


	5. The Coronation of Sunset Shimmer - 2

_**Waking Nightmares – Magic Lives**_

_**An Equestria Girls fanfiction**_

_**by Jonathan "KnightMysterio" Spires**_

_**Chapter 5: The Coronation of Sunset Shimmer Part - 2**_

_All characters not original copyrighted to their original owners, used for non-profit amusement reasons. All original characters copyrighted to me. Comments, compliments, and constructive criticism are appreciated and encouraged. Flames will be ignored. Events of this section of the story take place two years before the start of Waking Nightmares. _

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

_Canterlot..._

_Train station..._

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Sunset stared nervously at the glistening spires that made up the city of Canterlot. She fluffed her wings nervously, hoping everything would go all right. Despite Celestia's assurances that she was forgiven, the guilt was still there. She felt it always would be...

She felt a comforting hoof on her shoulder, and turned. Twilight smiled at her. "It'll be okay," the purple princess said. "Trust me."

Sunset just grinned weakly. "I hope so..." she said. "I just have the weirdest feeling that something major is going to happen today."

Rarity, who was nearby, giggled. "Well, certainly there is, darling! It's not everyday that you're crowned a princess!"

"Indeed!" said Rares, the transformed unicorn smiling warmly. "Oh, this is quite exciting!"

Sunset chuckled weakly. "Exciting. Right," she said. "Let's go with that."

Twilight nuzzled her. "It'll be okay," she assured. "It's just nerves." She chuckled. "You should have seen the mess I was before my own coronation."

AJ thought of something, debated for a moment on saying in, and decided to just roll with it. "Plus, if nothin' else, y'all won't have t'hang around and deal with the nobles bein' all huffy about you being princess," the human-turned-Earth pony said.

Sunset rolled her eyes. "Yeah. I missed a lot about this place... Dealing with the snobs of the court was NOT one of them..." she said, both she and Twilight giggling and nuzzling each other.

Flutters watched them, blushing. "Are they in love?" she asked softly.

"Hm?" Fluttershy asked, frowning. "Not that I know of, why do you ask?"

"Well, it's just..." Flutters stammered, blushing and trailing off as she began to twiddle her hooves nervously.

"Most people in our world don't get on nuzzly and cuddly like that unless they're really deep into each other, like Rares and AJ," Dashie explained.

The Equestrian natives giggled. "As I told my counterpart," Celestia said, "We are a society based on friendship, love, and harmony. Plus, we don't have those nice wriggly hands humans do, so we find other ways to show affection. What may be an expression of intimacy in your world is simply an expression of friendship here."

"Well, I like it!" Pinkamena proclaimed. "Free hugs for everypony!" She immediately began running around the train car, hugging everypony she met. Everypony giggled, Pinkie joining in the hug fest.

Celestia smiled warmly at the display. But then she remembered something. "Ah. Rarity, the royal tailor would like to speak to you about the final touches on the dresses we princesses will be wearing. Rares, if you wish, you may talk to her as well."

Rarity nodded. "Of course, Princess Celestia," she said.

Celestia sighed. "I wish I knew what happened to my old one," she said. "It was quite lovely."

Luna snickered. Rarity just smiled knowingly. Rares leaned in and whispered conspiratorially. "Let me guess," she asked her counterpart. "Fashion disaster big enough to merit an intervention?"

"Pink with yellow styling," Rarity said simply.

Rares gagged. "With Celestia's coloring?"

Rarity nodded. "Indeed," she said. "And apparently, it's design was a personal request by Celestia."

Rares groaned inwardly. "And because the Royal Tailor is an employee of the Princess directly, the poor dear couldn't refuse..."

Rarity just grinned wickedly. "She actually helped me destroy it," she said. "And remove the evidence."

Rares smirked. "Of course, she had to commission a new dress," she prompted.

"And she asked me to help the Royal Tailor to design it," Rarity answered. "Everyone wins."

The two Rarity's tittered.

The two Fluttershys, meanwhile, were staring up at the city in awe.

"It's so beautiful," said Flutters, grinning widely.

Fluttershy nodded, trotting near her. "And there's so much culture to see as well! Animal sanctuaries, excellent libraries with lots of spots to hide in for privacy, marvelous parks with lots of space to be with animals and not deal with other ponies, and just recently they've started holding manega conventions!" she said with quiet excitement. At the mention of manega, though, she wilted a little, blushing in embarrassment. "Oh, but... I don't know if you have those in your world..."

Flutters, however, had a joyous expression on her face. "You... you have manga here?"

Fluttershy went wide-eyed. "Ranmare ½?"

Flutters nodded, mentally translating the name to the human equivalent. "Revolutionary Girl Utena?"

Fluttershy grinned, doing the same. _Revolutionary Filly, but YES! _"Pony Genesis Evangelion?"

_Good lord, this cheerful place came up with something like NGE? Still... _Flutters nodded, grinning widely. "Dragonball?"

Fluttershy nodded, grinning even wider. "Oh my... Sailor Moon?" she asked.

Flutters nodded, the two pegasi squeeing happily and hugging each other. Common ground yet again!

AJ facehooved. "Lordamighty. Two of them, now..." she muttered, smirking and shaking her head.

Applejack chuckled. "Ain't never understood what she sees in those comic books from Neighpon," she said. "But whatever makes her happy I suppose."

Dashie grinned up at the towering spires of the castle. "Hey pony me, think you could beat me in a race around those towers?" she challenged.

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. "First, yes I could, no contest. Second... we can't. The archers around the towers have been twitchy ever since Tirek's attack."

Twilight shuddered. "Can we not talk about him, please?" she said. "This is Sunset's time. Let's focus on happy things!"

Celestia looked thoughtful. "Actually..." she said. "Sunset needs to get ready, of course, but perhaps you girls would like to show our visitors around the city?"

Luna brightened. "An excellent idea!" she said. "We will, of course, have to send guards with each group, just to be safe, and to assure everypony that they aren't changelings."

"Excellent idea," she said. "What say you?"

The Canterlot High students seemed excited by this prospect. Tia and Lulu, however, looked somewhat uneasy. "Perhaps at least Tia and I should stay with you also," Lulu said. "After all, we do look like the rulers of this land."

"That could create some unnecessary complications," Tia said. "Remember what happened when we went to Joe's yesterday? We were lucky and Joe was fairly easygoing about it, but others might be a bit more paranoid, especially after that Changeling invasion you told me about."

"Oh!" Luna said, frowning. "I didn't think of that..."

Celestia nodded. "A good idea," she said. "We'll have time later to escort you around ourselves. As for the others, I think a guard or two per group should be enough."

Rainbow Dash gave her an 'are you serious?' look. Celestia rolled her eyes. "Contrary to what the tabloids say, Rainbow Dash, our guards are very competent at their jobs. We wouldn't keep them around otherwise."

One guard, a unicorn, stepped forward. "Your majesties," he said. "I am Lance Bearer. My unit and I would be more than willing to escort our guests around Canterlot."

Celestia smiled. "I applaud your initiative," she said.

"If it's okay..." Twilight said, stepping forward. "I need to help Sunset get ready for her coronation. Would one of your unit be willing to take Twily to see Moondancer, a friend of mine here in the city? I trust her to show Twily around, and you can quote me on that to her." She gave the guard directions to Moondancer's home, as well as having Spike writing and sending out a letter to explain the situation to Moondancer.

Lance Bearer nodded. "Of course," he said, smiling grandly, his white coat as shining as his armor. "I'd be delighted. May I be excused to gather my unit?"

Celestia nodded. Lance Bearer smiled warmly, and then trotted off to the barracks. The group casually talked amongst themselves, Celestia explaining the coronation ceremony, where the others would have to stand, what they were allowed to do during the ceremony, and so forth. After a few minutes, Lance Bearer came back with several unicorn stallions, all with warm, pleasant smiles on their faces. Each guard was paired up with one pair of Twilight's friends, Lance Bearer himself going with Twili to visit Moondancer.

Before leaving, though, Lance Bearer excused himself once again, citing a need to use the bathroom. Once inside, he checked to see if anypony was watching and cast a spell on a mirror. A shadowy figure appeared in the opposite image, his face barely visible from the nearby fireplace.

"Master," he said. "We have a unique opportunity. The Rainbow Bearers and their otherworldly twins are all splitting up to see the city, with all the alicorns staying in the castle. I'm taking Princess Twilight's twin to see a friend of hers in the city."

The unicorn on the other end of the messaging spell grinned. "Excellent..." he said. "Is your plan what I think it is?"

Lance Bearer nodded. "Once the Rainbow Bearers are isolated, my troops will capture them and bring them to the castle to witness the death of the alicorns," he said.

The other unicorn chuckled. "Perfect... Hurry back to them, before you are missed. Keep them away from the castle until we are set, and then bring them back to watch the execution from the foul hybrids. We shall contact you once we are ready."

A few minutes later, Lance Bearer had gathered his troops, each one escorting a pair off to see Canterlot. The princesses, meanwhile, escorted Sunset Shimmer, Tia, and Lulu up to the palace.

"Everything's so beautiful," Tia said softly.

Lulu giggled. "And echoey," she said. "The noise must be frustrating at times with hooves clip-clopping everywhere."

"Our private quarters and offices are soundproofed," Luna said, grinning. "Simple spells. Perhaps even with the limited magic in your world you could cast them."

Tia shook her head. "I'm still trying to get the hang of this magical telekinesis," she said. "I'm still accidentally crushing things..."

Lulu blinked, and grinned. "Telekinesis? Like lifting something with your mind? That's a trick I'd love to learn before we go home."

Celestia smiled. "We'll see what we can do about tha... ah, here's Princess Cadance!" She turned to the others. "Ladies, this is Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, or Princess Cadance for short. She's the Princess of Love and co-ruler of the Crystal Empire."

Waiting in the foyer was a candy pink alicorn with a wide smile on her face. Twilight immediately ran towards her, the two hugging delightedly. "And also Twilight's favorite babysitter from when she was younger," Celestia added, the others chuckling.

And then...

"Sunshine, sunshine, ladybugs awake! Clap your hooves and do a little shake!" they chanted, doing a silly little dance with it.

Sunset just stared, her jaw dropping. Celestia giggled. "Adorable every time," she said. Luna nodded in agreement.

"That was certainly... a thing..." Tia said, not sure what to think.

"Cadance... I swear I've heard that name before... AH! Yes. She was recently hired to be the guidance counselor at Crystal Prep," Lulu said.

"Neat! So I have a counterpart over there as well, huh?" Cadance said as she and Twilight came over to the group.

Lulu nodded. "One that's being fairly well-received at her job, from what I've heard," she said.

"Nice," Cadance said. "Guidance counselor at a school, huh? Sounds like a job I'd enjoy." She looked over the two transformed alicorns. "Wow... It's like a perfect mirror... Granted, there's not that aura of ancient wisdom about you two..."

"Ancient!?" Luna and Celestia said, affronted. Cadance wilted a little as the two glared at her... and then both Princesses broke up in a fit of giggles, Cadance smiling and relaxing.

"Wow, Twilight... Just... wow..." Sunset said, coming up to Twilight.

The purple alicorn blushed. "It's just something Cadance and I have done since I was a little foal," she said.

Sunset shook her head, snickering. "You are such an adorable dork," she said.

Twilight grinned. "Ah, speaking of..." she said, turning to Cadance. She suddenly turned sheepish, tracing a circle on the ground with her hoof and blushing. "Did... did he come too?"

Cadance frowned, hesitating. "Yes," she said after a long moment, gesturing to a nearby corridor. "He and a couple other guards are unloading some of my bags."

Twilight grinned widely. "I'm gonna surprise him," she said, trotting off merrily.

Tia blinked. "Wait... Are you talking about Flash Sentry?" she asked, smiling.

Cadance, nodded. "There's a version of him on your world?"

Lulu nodded, smiling. "Sweet boy. Plays in a student band... rather popular with the ladies."

Sunset nodded, blushing. "I dated him once, back when I was..." She coughed. "Well... I wonder what he's like here?"

Tia grinned. "Let's eavesdrop," she said. "This should be fun!"

Sunset, Tia, and Lulu followed Twilight down the hall, amused. Celestia and Luna, however, stayed behind, having sensed Cadance's hesitation.

"What's wrong?" Celestia asked.

Cadance pawed the floor nervously. "I just..." she shook her head. "Normally, I'm able to tell immediately whether or not a relationship will work out, but whenever I apply my senses to this relationship, I get severely mixed signals. It's left me uneasy..."

Luna frowned. "Perhaps because you know that there are two Flash Sentrys, and your magic is applying itself to both?"

Cadance sighed. "Possibly..."

Celestia stared down the hallway the others had gone, her face expressionless. After a moment, she said, "One of my greatest worries for Twilight is having her heart broken. Not just because her power level would make her anger dangerous to those around her, but because no one deserves that sort of betrayal. Let us join Sunset and our otherworldly counterparts in eavesdropping."

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

_Meanwhile..._

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

"...I tell you what, guys, I have got to be the greatest stud ever," Flash Sentry said, laughing.

The crystal pony guard that was with him shook his head. "Morals of today's ponies are so strange," he muttered, his blue, crystalline coat and flower Cutie Mark shining in the sunlight in the corridor. "In my day it was considered uncouth to brag about one's sexual conquests."

The unicorn guard, black-furred with a boat cutie mark, that was helping supervise the transport of Cadance's belongings to her temporary room rolled his eyes. "It's uncouth today. Flash is just a jerk," he said.

"Y'all are just jealous. I mean, how many studs could say that they're on the verge of getting to bang an ALICORN PRINCESS!?" Flash said, giggling. "It's great. And she's so damn naive, too! I couldn't have thought up a better scam if I had those two scheisters Flim and Flam helping me!"

"Don't remind me," the unicorn muttered. "Still can't believe those idiots came to the Empire looking to buy things that belonged to Sombra off of the Prince and Princess..."

The crystal pony frowned. "You are tricking Princess Twilight?" he asked.

Flash nodded. "Yeah. I mean, I've been with earth ponies, unicorns, pegasi, thestrals, buffalo, zebras, minotaurs, this teen dragoness one time, griffons, crystal ponies, changelings..."

The unicorn blinked. "Wait. Changelings?"

"You'd be surprised at the number of changeling hookers in the red light district," Flash said, smirking. "Those bugs are so desperate for anything even remotely resembling love right now that they'll do almost anything. But back to Twilight." He giggled. "Seriously, I've used my guitar-playing to get me some mares before, but it's NEVER been this easy! Overhearing that love-gushing loser we work for talking with Prince-Captain Armor about the me in that other world Twilight visited was probably the best thing that's happened to me. All I gotta do is strum some stupid love songs, and I've got Twilight Freakin' Sparkle, a national hero and the most adorkable hotty I've ever seen panting like a dog!"

The unicorn and crystal pony guards froze, their eyes widening as they saw who was coming up behind Flash. "Um... Flash?" the crystal pony said, his voice cracking with fright.

Flash, not noticing the growing danger, kept ranting. "It'd be almost sad if it wasn't so damn funny! She's like the changeling hookers in how desperate for love she is at times."

"Flash, I'd really shut up now if I were you," the unicorn said, both he and the crystal pony grinning nervously.

Flash continued to ignore them. "Tell you what, though, it's all been worth it. To add an alicorn princess as a notch on my bedpost? I'll be the greatest damn stud alive!"

"By the ancients, Flash, STOP TALKING!" the crystal pony said, his voice raising to a squeak of fright.

Flash, once again, ignored them. "Hm. Don't wanna be tied down, though. Gotta think of a plan to break up with her after I get her in bed with me..." He tapped his chin thoughtfully. "And considering she's royalty, she'll probably be expecting things from me... Maybe I'm not thinking this through enough."

"Oh no fucking kidding," the unicorn said, he and the crystal pony visibly sweating. "Flash, for ALL of our sakes, TURN THE HELL AROUND!"

Flash blinked, finally noticing the two of them. He turned... and paled. "Oh horseapples..." 

Seven alicorns were standing behind him. Two Celestias, two Lunas, Sunset Shimmer, Cadance, and Twilight Sparkle.

The Celestia and Luna who were visitors to this world looked utterly shocked at the depths of Flash's infidelity, their expressions a mix of disgust and incredulity. Sunset Shimmer looked almost sad, shaking her head in disappointment. The native Luna's eyes glowed with fury, small swirls of lightning forming around her. Celestia was radiating with barely controlled heat, her eyes furious. Cadance, by contrast, had an icy glare to her, an unnaturally cold expression on her face. And Twilight...

"You... YOU... YOU BASTARD!" she screamed, her coat turning white as her tail, wings, and mane turned into bright coronas of flame, her teeth gnashing with rage. "I was giving my heart to you, you miserable JACKASS!" She lunged, only to collide with the edge of the force bubble Celestia created around her.

"Deal with this," Celestia said acidly to Cadance, who just nodded as the other princesses filed off, Twilight's screams of fury echoing down the hallway as Celestia carried her away.

Flash held his breath, not daring to sigh in relief that Twilight wasn't going to murder him. He still had Princess Cadance glaring at him coldly. He gulped.

"Do you understand why we're angry with you, Flash Sentry?" Princess Cadance said, glaring at him. The unicorn and crystal pony began to slowly edge their way out of the room, a brief glare from Cadance freezing them in place.

Flash gulped. "B-B-because I broke Princess Twilight's heart?" he tried, grinning nervously.

"Why are you smiling?" Cadance asked. "Do you approve of your actions?"

Flash's face immediately froze into the emotionless stone-face most guards wore. "N-NO, YOUR HIGHNESS!"

Cadance sighed. "We're mad at you for breaking Princess Twilight's heart, yes, but that would not be enough to justify punishing you. Princess Twilight is a tremendously powerful magic user, and her control is affected by her emotions. When those emotions get out of control, she becomes dangerous, both to herself and to those around her. In addition to that, she is also one sixth of the Rainbow Bearers, the Guardians of Harmony. If her own heart is imbalanced, in the grips of rage or despair, or any other purely negative emotion she cannot properly use the magic of friendship," she said, pacing back and forth. She paused, glaring right at Flash Sentry, making him flinch. "Your actions, in addition to being absolutely DICKISH, have created a potential security risk on what should be a joyous day, Sunset Shimmer's coronation as Princess and Ambassador to the other world." She took a breath to calm herself. "And it is because of that coronation that I will defer your punishment for now." She turned to the other two guards. "Golden Sail and Quartz Heart, correct?" she asked, addressing the unicorn and crystal pony.

"Y-yes, your majesty," the unicorn, Golden Sail, said.

Cadance sighed. "Did you know of his reputation beforehand? And if so, why did you not give me or Twilight warning about it?"

Quartz Heart gulped. "M-My lady... I served in the palace under King Sombra's reign. Those who questioned his decisions in any way were locked into helmets that stripped them of their free will, turning them into cannon fodder soldiers that he would use in death matches for his own amusement. I know you are a far better ruler than Sombra, and have proven to be trustworthy over and over again, b-but..." He looked ashamed. "Old fears don't go away so easily, even if you know the pony you're talking to is better than the one before her. Old doubts don't go away completely, and old habits are hard to break..."

Golden Sail grimaced. "I don't have an excuse, my lady," he said. "I knew beforehand, but since Flash obviously can't keep his mouth shut, I assumed that scuttlebutt on him would have gotten up to your level, that you knew about it and were taking action on your own. Apparently, I assumed incorrectly."

Cadance went over and hugged them both, startling them. To Quartz Heart, she said, "Never fear me. Always trust that I will be there for you, and never bring you harm, especially for something so petty as being told I was wrong. If you believe I am mistaken about something, come to me. I love you all, my crystal ponies. And I will always be there for you."

Quartz Heart just closed his eyes. "I am sorry, my princess..." he said softly, ashamed of letting his old fears of Sombra influence him. "I will endeavor to be stronger in the future."

Cadance nodded, turning to Golden Sail. "To you, I say the same thing. If you have doubts about something that we're doing, tell us. Tell ANY of us. The most that will happen is that Luna may yell a little, and she would never hurt anyone. We're your rulers, yes, but we also want to be your friends. We'll listen, and take your thoughts into account." She giggled, and added. "I'll spare you the old cliché about what assuming makes 'u' and 'me.'"

Golden Sail smiled. "Thank you, your highness. I'll try to keep that in mind in the future."

Cadance nodded, her expression turning dark as she turned to Flash Sentry, who was too scared to move. She sighed.

"Confine Flash Sentry to the guard barracks and keep him there until we leave," Princess Cadance said. "After we return to the Crystal Empire, you both will be given a week's vacation to make up for missing the ceremony." The two guards nodded, saluting. Princess Cadance turned to Flash Sentry, who was visibly sweating. "As for you," she said. "I'm sure Prince-Captain Shining Armor, Princess Twilight Sparkle's big brother," she emphasized, "would LOVE to hear about your... 'conquests.'"

She trotted away, picking up the bags the guards were carrying. Once the sound of her hoofsteps were out of earshot, Flash visibly wilted, groaning in frustration. "Princess Twilight's big brother..." he moaned.

"Boy, you screwed and not in the fun way," Golden Sail said, smirking.

"I believe the modern phrase is 'dead pony walking,'" Quartz Heart said, visibly calmer after Cadance's pep-talk, both he and Golden Sail laughing.

Flash let out a strangled-sounding squeak. "Come on, 'stud,'" Golden Sail teased. "Let's get to the barracks. Unless, of course, you'd like to talk to Princess Twilight some more..."

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

_Meanwhile..._

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Twilight Sparkle was sobbing, both Sunset Shimmer and Celestia hugging the heartbroken princess as she wept. Luna and the two offworlders stood off to the side, frowning and talking amongst themselves.

"I knew there would be differences between counterparts in each world," Lulu said softly, "but I didn't think they'd be polar opposites..."

"The Flash Sentry of thine own world be truer of heart, then?" Luna said, still tense, her more archaic manner of speaking more comfortable when dealing with her anger.

Tia shook her head. "Our world's Flash is sweetheart. When he and Sunset were dating, back when Sunset was evil, he was completely faithful to her. She broke up with him."

Lulu nodded. "I swear, if I was twenty years young, _I _would want to date him."

Luna sighed. "And Twilight let herself be blinded by memories of the other Flash," she said softly. "To be fair, we should have paid closer attention ourselves. Twilight was just so happy meeting him, she thought she would have a chance to pursue a relationship..."

"We all made mistakes," Cadance said, coming up to the group and setting down her remaining bags. "I should have spoken of my concerns sooner. All we can do now is help Twilight recover from this." The other three nodded as Cadance walked over to Twilight, who was starting to calm down.

"You gonna be okay, ladybug?" Cadance said, laying down in front of her.

"Eventually..." Twilight said, sniffling. She sighed, reluctantly pulling out of the hug and turning to Sunset. "Sorry... This is supposed to be your day, and here I am bringing personal drama into it."

Sunset nuzzled her. "It's okay, really..." she said, smiling warmly. "You couldn't have known this Flash would be so different from the one in the human world. We all make mistakes."

"Even colossally stupid ones?" Twilight muttered. "Swift Saber and Power Words, my personal guards, both warned me about dating him... I should have listened..."

Celestia hugged her again, gently stroking her mane. "If you wish to be alone, Luna, Cadance and I can handle the rest of the preparations on our own."

Twilight sniffled a little, thinking about it. "No... No, I need to keep busy right now. If I don't I'll just be a weepy wreck all day." She smiled a little, turning to Cadance. "What's going to happen to Flash?"

"He's confined to the barracks until we go back," Cadance said. "I'll let Shining Armor deal with him then."

"Oooh," Lulu said, grimacing. "Big brother with royal authority. Not fun."

Cadance snickered. Twilight just smiled. "Okay... I can deal with that... okay..." the lavender alicorn said. "Meantime, we still need to get you ready..."

Sunset grimaced. "You... You sure you don't want to talk about this some more? Maybe have a long, long heart-to-heart with ice cream and cheesy movies?"

Celestia frowned. "You're still uncertain. Why?"

Sunset sighed. "I just... I don't feel I deserve a royal title..." she said. "I've only just recently discovered the magic of friendship, and things are still so shaky back at the school. Only the girls really trust me... well, and Vinyl, but I think a nuclear bomb going off wouldn't bother her."

Luna, Twilight, Cadance, and Celestia gave her blank looks at that. Tia and Lulu looked visibly uncomfortable. Sunset quirked an eyebrow, moderately amused by everypony's reaction. "Humans have... 'interesting' military technology..." she said.

Celestia was the first to recover. "Time enough for that later," she said. "Sunset, I know you have doubts. But we all believe in you. The fact that you have ascended is proof of that."

Twilight nodded, grinning. "You've earned your wings," she said. "Now it's time to fly with them."

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

_Elsewhere..._

_Guard Barracks..._

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

"What's this now?" asked Captain Harbinger, the sturdy earth pony staring at Golden Sail and Quartz Heart as they led a dejected Flash Sentry into the barracks.

"Sir," Golden Sail said, saluting. "Flash's reputation and penchant for bragging finally caught up with him. He was bragging about 'bagging an alicorn' when all four of them plus the new one and the two copies from another world were standing behind him."

Flash grinned weakly.

Harbinger snickered. "And now he's being locked down for lighting the fuse on the Twilight Timebomb, right?"

Quartz Heart nodded. "We are to keep him confined in here until our return to the Crystal Empire."

Harbinger rolled his eyes. "Kids these days. No self-discipline," he said. "Well, I've no love for heartbreakers. I'll take you to where you can lock him up." He turned, having the two lead Flash further into the barracks until they came to an empty bunkroom with no personal belongings in it. "Here," he said. "No one's using this bunk right now. You can..."

"What in blazes are you doing?!" screamed a voice from the front of the barracks. Harbinger, Golden Sail, Quartz Heart, and Flash Sentry all turned as the front door of the barracks suddenly slammed shut. Harbinger growled, and dashed forward, vanishing in a blur and reappearing at the front gate.

He tapped the door, a surge of magical energy repelling his hoof. "What's going on out there?"

"Know your place, earth pony!" came a voice from the other end.

"Soon, all of you mudhooves and airheads will know your place!" cackled a second voice.

Harbinger blinked. He knew those voices. "Windshield? Sword Glow? What are you idiots up to?"

The voice Harbinger recognized as Windshield spoke next. "To the unicorns in there, don't worry. Once the filthy hybrids are dead and a true ruler is put into place, you'll all be honored for your service. The rest of you had best learn to respect your betters."

"It's a coup..." Golden Sail said softly, realizing what was going on.

"Oathbreaker filth," Harbinger growled. He turned to the guards imprisoned in the barracks with him, the indigo-furred earth pony about to bark orders when he saw that the thestrals and pegasi were already on the move, heading for the upper exits to the building. Unfortunately, they encountered the same magical seals.

"No good!" shouted one of the pegasi. "This one's blocked off also!"

"Helluva time for Barricade to be out of the city," Harbinger muttered. "That bulldozer could just knock down a wall and get us out of here..." He turned to the door again. "OATHBREAKERS! Let us out of here right now and I MAY let you live long enough to see a trial!"

The two treasonous unicorn guards manning the door just laughed. Harbinger snarled, turning to some of the unicorns trapped in here with them. "Can you break the barrier?" he demanded.

"Yes sir," said one of the unicorns. "But it will take time."

"Start now," he ordered. The unicorns immediately went to work. "Everypony else, start working on knocking down a wall! We need to get OUT of here before the princesses are hurt!"

Flash Sentry stepped forward. "Sir... Permission to help?" he asked.

Harbinger just glared at him. "You're on lockdown, runt," he snapped.

Flash Sentry flinched. "Sir, I know. I admit I'm a pervert, and that I was exploiting Princess Twilight's feelings. But I'm no traitor! Whatever my faults, my loyalty is to the crowns!"

Harbinger thought for a moment, and sighed. "Fine. Help the pegasi and batponies in getting us out of here," he said. Flash immediately went to work. Captain Harbinger stroked his beard, keeping an eye on everypony's progress. He silently prayed that he'd be able to get out before the traitors behind this could get away with it.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

_Elsewhere..._

_Castle hallways..._

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Prince Blueblood was strolling down the halls of the castle, noted earth pony photographer Photo Finish trailing behind him, taking pictures of the stained glass windows. Blueblood would pause at each one, the smarmy, blonde-maned unicorn prince telling a brief story about the image.

"And this is where Princess Twilight and the other Rainbow Bearers bested mighty Tirek. They..." Blueblood trailed off as he noticed someone trotting down the hallway in the opposite direction he was walking. "Ah. Pardon me one moment, my dear."

Photo Finish frowned, but nodded. Blueblood walked up to the figure, an elderly unicorn with reddish fur in white robes, his hair a graying pink. "Lord Firestone," Blueblood said. "How wonderful to see you."

The elder unicorn nodded. "I just wanted to thank you again for your assistance. Without you, we wouldn't be able to pull off the wondrous feat we're going to accomplish in a few minutes."

Blueblood smiled. "Then everything proceeds according to your plan?" he asked.

Lord Firestone nodded. "Indeed. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to put the final preparations in place," he said, slowly trotting off. Blueblood said nothing, watching him go with a smirk on his face.

Photo Finish frowned. "...Forgive me, Prince, but what is goink on?" she asked.

Once Lord Firestone was out of earshot, Blueblood levitated a small flask out of his coat pocket. "This evening's entertainment, my dear Photo Finish. If Lord Firestone's plan is proceeding apace, that means my own plan is doing just as well."

"...When the nobility are plannink things, I am getting quite nervous," Photo Finish said, fidgeting.

"Trust in your prince," Blueblood said, sipping from his flask again. "And keep your camera at the ready. The real reason I brought you here today will become evident soon enough..."

_**TO BE CONTINUED...**_


End file.
